Apple Reportedly Cutting Back on Bonuses, Hiring and Travel

Apple is reportedly cutting costs, though not making deep cuts and layoffs like its peers.

The tech giant is delaying some bonuses, limiting hiring and reducing travel, Bloomberg reported Tuesday (March 14), citing unnamed sources.

Apple did not immediately reply to PYMNTS’ request for comment.

Divisions at the company that used to receive bonuses twice a year will now get them annually like the rest of the company does. However, Apple’s highest-ranking employees will continue to receive quarterly bonuses, according to the report.

In another change, Apple is limiting hiring and leaving more positions empty when employees depart, the report said.

When it comes to travel budgets, the firm is now requiring approval from a higher level of executive than it used to take.

Apple’s revenue for the most recent quarter was down 5% year over year, Apple CEO Tim Cook said Feb. 2 during the company’s quarterly earnings call.

Cook attributed this to COVID-19 restrictions and global disruptions that slowed shipments of the new line of iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max and other hardware.

While Apple is reacting to the current economic uncertainty by streamlining — and launched an earlier cost-cutting effort in July — it has avoided the mass layoffs seen at several other tech firms, according to the Bloomberg report.

There’s less need to make cuts at the company due to Apple’s restraint in hiring and spending during the pandemic, according to the report.

This report comes on the same day that another tech giant, Meta, announced that it plans to lay off another 10,000 employees — after cutting 11,000 jobs in November — and freeze hiring for another 5,000 roles that had been open.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg attributed the first round of workforce reductions to online commerce returning to prior trends after having increased during the pandemic, and the second round of cuts to the company adapting to a “new economic reality” that includes higher interest rates, more geopolitical instability and increased regulation.

Similarly, Google parent Alphabet announced in January that it was cutting 12,000 jobs as it adjusts to the current macroeconomic environment.