Tech giant Apple has laid off recruiters after warning earlier that an economic downturn is forcing a hiring freeze. Bloomberg News reported that as many as 100 contract workers have been fired, indicating the spending squeeze at the iPhone maker.
The development came two weeks after Apple reported record revenues in the quarter ended June 30.
However, in the backdrop of a slip in quarterly profits, Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook had issued a stark warning to employees. Cook had said the company was going to be 'deliberate' in its spending. "We believe in investing through the downturn," Cook told analysts. "And so we'll continue to hire people and invest in areas, but we are being more deliberate in doing so in recognition of the realities of the environment," Cook had said.
'Change in Business Needs'
The employees fired were told that the job cuts stemmed from the changes in the company's business needs. The firing of the contract-based staffers in charge of hiring indicates that Apple is foreseeing a marked slowdown in business.
The layoffs affected employees in various locations including Texas and Singapore.
The report says that Apple, which employs more than 150,000 people, has not fired full-time employees. A spokesman of the company did not comment on the development, the report adds.
A slew of tech majors have already said they are either sacking employees or freezing hiring. they include Meta Platforms that owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, Elon Musk's Tesla, Microsoft Corp., Amazon.com Inc. and Oracle Corp.
'Blood on Streets'
Google staff were told last week that a dim outlook for the business climate would mean job losses were possible. According to a report, Google executives have reportedly warned workers to either boost performance or prepare to leave. An internal message circulated among the employees warned that "there will be blood on the streets" if the next quarterly earnings are not good.
Wider Jobcuts
In a company message viewed by Insider, Google Cloud sales leadership has threatened employees with an "overall examination of sales productivity and productivity in general," IANS reported. The message adds that if next quarter results "don't look up, there will be blood on the streets."
More tech companies have been walking down this path of late. Twitter, Nvidia, Snap, Uber, Spotify, Intel and Salesforce have either laid off employees or frozen hiring amid the global economic downturn.
Slip in Profits
Apple reported record revenues in the quarter ended June 30, despite the dull economic environment that impacted earnings and share price of big technology companies. The iPhone maker said revenue rose 2 percent year-over-year to hit $83 billion.
However, the world's most valuable company's net quarterly profit slipped to $19.4 billion from $21.7 billion in the same quarter a year ago.
"This quarter's record results speak to Apple's constant efforts to innovate, to advance new possibilities, and to enrich the lives of our customers ... As always, we are leading with our values, and expressing them in everything we build, from new features that are designed to protect user privacy and security, to tools that will enhance accessibility, part of our longstanding commitment to create products for everyone," Apple CEO Tim Cook had said.
