Apple Inc. laid off over 600 employees in California as part of its decisions to end its car and smartwatch display projects, per filings with the California Employment Development Department.
The Cupertino, California-based company submitted eight separate reports to comply with the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) program.
Firms must file a report to the state agency for each California address, including employees affected by a layoff. At least 87 of the individuals worked at an address corresponding to a confidential Apple facility for its next-generation screen development, while the remainder were located at buildings linked to the car project.
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At the end of February, Apple began winding down both endeavours, which were considered important initiatives to grow the company's technologies or venture into new sectors. The car project was terminated due to executive indecision concerning its direction and troubles over costs, and the display program was closed due to engineering, supplier, and cost challenges.
According to the reports, 371 employees were made redundant at Apple's principal car-related office in Santa Clara, California, with several more being affected at various satellite offices. In some instances, members of the Apple car group were reassigned to other teams, such as those involved in artificial intelligence or personal robotics.
An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment on the number of employees impacted by the job cuts.
The WARN notices do not disclose the full extent of the job reductions because Apple had many engineers working on both projects in other areas, including Arizona.
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