Apple Car, microLED Projects Getting Canceled Means That More Than 700 Employees Will Be Laid Off
As much as Apple CEO Tim Cook stated that layoffs in the company would be seen as a last resort, the cancelation of the self-driving car venture dubbed ‘Project Titan’ and microLED development for the upcoming Apple Watch Ultra variant meant that a lot of employees would either be laid off or relocated. According to the latest report, more than 700 individuals could lose their livelihood, with the information coming to light after Apple filed WARN notices in the state of California.
Apple has provided some relief to employees wanting to keep their jobs by being relocated to Austin, Texas
The fresh update from the WARN report provided by the California Employment Development Department was spotted by 9to5Mac, with Apple cutting its employee headcount by 58 from one of its offices in Santa Clara. This office belonged to LuxVue Technology, a firm specializing in microLED panels that Apple acquired in 2014. Unfortunately, the technology giant gave up on further development because there was a massive yield and pricing problem, making it commercially unviable. In short, it meant that the next Apple Watch Ultra would not flaunt the latest panels and would stick to OLED.
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Additionally, there were more than 120 layoff notices filed by Apple in San Diego, which was responsible for evaluating Siri’s responses to users and helping the company improve the voice assistant’s accuracy. While it is tough for employees to lose their livelihood in such tough financial times, Apple has offered a lifeline to those who can relocate to Austin, Texas. For those who have decided not to pursue their career at Apple, the Cupertino firm will likely hand out severance packages based on how long those employees served their time at the company.
While the Apple Car and microLED projects were proof of the company’s ambitions, canceling them does not mean that the trillion-dollar
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