What’s Behind Apple’s “Secret Layoff” Plan?

Apple has started a secret "layoff" plan. According to the New York Post: despite that Apple $Apple (AAPL.US)$ has avoided large-scale layoffs like many big techs, it was also quietly cutting costs. This part includes reducing the number of contract workers. Insiders say that Apple is now directly firing the contract workers without waiting for the contract to expire. Some of the contract workers said they felt cheated by the Apple management.

The reason why Apple can avoid laying off employees is because Apple has not recruited so many people. During the period 2019-2022, the number of employees of Apple has increased by 20%, while Salesforce $Salesforce (CRM.US)$, Amazon $Amazon (AMZN.US)$, and Meta $Meta Platforms (META.US)$ have all increased by about 100%. During this period, the company's cautious recruitment strategy has also paid off. Each new employee can bring the company $2.51 million in revenue, an increase of 114% compared with before the epidemic, far exceeding its peers. In contrast, employee productivity at Microsoft $Microsoft (MSFT.US)$, Salesforce, and Meta has declined.