Apple Inc. is shutting down its Data Operations Annotations team in San Diego, affecting 121 employees, and relocating its operations to Austin, Texas. Apple’s strategy is to consolidate its AI efforts and enhance the development of Siri, the company’s digital assistant.
Employees have until the end of February to decide whether to relocate to Austin. Those opting not to move will face termination on April 26. This news arrived just a day after Apple announced that its CFO was stepping down.
Apple is offering a $7,000 stipend to employees who agree to move by the end of June. Those who choose not to relocate will receive severance pay, including four weeks of pay plus an additional week for each year of service, along with six months of health insurance.
The announcement surprised many employees, especially since they were initially informed about a planned move to a new Apple campus in San Diego. Many employees have expressed hesitation to relocate due to concerns about their eligibility for other roles at Apple, particularly those without engineering backgrounds.
The San Diego team has played a vital role in improving Siri by handling voice service queries in multiple languages, including Hebrew, English, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, and French. Apple largely avoided layoffs during the pandemic.
More here.
The headline doesn’t really fit the content. “Sacked” sounds pretty harsh.
It appears that Apple is being pretty reasonable with these folks by giving them a reasonable choice, and plenty of time to make a decision.
Lots of companies wouldn’t do what Apple’s doing.