Apple denies second round of layoff rumors
For the second time in a week, Apple has denied rumors that it has laid off workers.
On Friday, Valleywag reported that a tipster informed it of layoffs in the Mac Hardware and Pro Applications group, describing Apple's Cupertino, Calif., headquarters as having "lots of security around" and saying "it seems like a lot" of employees were affected. Earlier in the week Valleywag published a similar report that 50 sales employees were laid off from Apple.
Apple spokesman Steve Dowling denied both reports Friday. "It's not true," he said, referring to the rumors involving both rounds of supposed job cuts.
Apple's ability to ride out the worst economic period since Ronald Reagan's first term has been questioned over the last several weeks, with reports that Mac sales are on the decline and a substantial drop in its stock price Friday amid rising unemployment and falling consumer confidence. But the company has a cash position that most of its competitors can't match, and was not expected to have to resort to layoffs at this point.
Over 32,000 people now work for Apple. The company went on a hiring binge last year, adding workers mostly in its retail division. Part-time workers in that group have reportedly endured some cuts, but no full-time employees have stepped forward this week to confirm they've been laid off, as happened at IBM earlier this year.
Tom Krazit writes about the ever-expanding world of Internet search, including Google, Yahoo, online advertising, and portals, as well as the evolution of mobile computing. He has written about traditional PC companies, chip manufacturers, and mobile computers, spending the last three years covering Apple. E-mail Tom. 
"On Friday, Valleywag reported that a tipster informed it of layoffs in the Mac Gardware "
Or it's a typo.
Or perhaps your "friend" was just a piece of deadwood that didn't deserve to keep his job.
For example, California generally considers laying off 50 people as a "mass layoff" which requires notification (60-days I think). Obviously laying off a couple people isn't considered "mass layoff" and doesn't require notification.
But there are numerous ways to get around this law. E.g., if you lay off 49 instead of 50, then it's not a "mass layoff". And "new employees" (worked less than 6 months) isn't counted as part of the 50, so Apple could let go of 49 full-time employees plus another 25 new employees and not be required to notify.
In fact Apple could let go of hundreds of "new employees" and not call it a layoff.
Also for the 50-layoff threshold to be met, all 50 (or more) employees must come from a "single site". If the employees worked from different "sites" (or maybe telecommute) then again notification is not required.
And the 50 employee count is within a "30 day period". So Apple could lay off hundreds of employees spread over months without any need for notification.
Lastly these thresholds only apply to Apple employees. Apple could let go of hundreds of contractors and not consider it a layoff. Apple could terminate an agreement with one of their service providers, affecting hundreds of jobs and again not consider it a mass layoff and not provide any notification.
So Apple could be using various technicalities to deny any layoffs and not provide notification.
They could. They could also NOT be laying people off.
It does seem strange that now Steve Jobs is off and the Steve Jobs Dead or Not meme has largely come to a close that stuff like this and the "Apple to drop 2% Earnings" crap that appeared on Friday to pull down the share price by over 7% at one point is just another example.
I particularly hate the snide way of wording stuff. Headlines such as "Apple denies second round of layoff rumors" are doing two things firstly implying that they have already laid people off and secondly that Apple are denying something that has happened.
This is pretty yellow journalism. Because it could be totally made up. You think of a headline get a negative response and then spin it. I know Apple are a secretive company. I know Apple have trodden on a lot of peoples toes. I know Apple are an easy target for hit seeking journalists but WHY can't they actually some real research that doesn't involve snide asides? Probably because it is all too easy.
For example, the article says, "Apple's ability to ride out the worst economic period ... has been questioned..."
The author did not bother with stating where was it questioned and who questioned it? Apple is sitting on $30 Billion in cash. It continues to earn more each quarter because it is recognizing iPhone revenue over time. How does a cash-rich corporation like Apple at risk of not being able to ride out this economy?
The substantial drop in share price on Friday is immaterial to Apple's corporate health at this time. Share prices are generally in decline in this poor economy but how does it impact Apple?
Mac sales are on decline? Yes, that is true in this economy but Mac prices are holding and that is a sign that Apple feels that it does not yet have to panic and start adopting fire-sales to survive. While Mac sales is indeed declining, but the rate of declining is relatively modest, it is not a steep dive to nowhere.
This is just something to fill a space on a page to generate a few hits. I want to write something here just in case readers of this article are not well informed about Apple facts.
Have a good weekend all!
They must be proud.
Hey, it coudl happen.
Until this is independantly confirmed, it's just a rumor.
- by layoffsupportnetwork March 17, 2009 4:48 PM PDT
- The road to hell is slicked with grease, boys and girls. Don't these captains of the industry realize that the best talent let go will be snapped up by others when the economy turns, and they will have to hire the 2nd-tier people?
- Like this Reply to this comment
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(26 Comments)But I guess the bean-counters did their analysis and decided this is all good. I wish I could tell these people about http://layoffsupportnetwork.com/lsn