Tim Cook Hits Back at Wall Street Journal over Sir Jony Ive Claims

Tim Cook hit back very strongly at suggestions Sir Jony Ive decided to leave Apple due to a falling out with the leadership team. The Apple CEO told NBC News Monday evening that the claims were “absurd.”

Tim Cook: “Story is Absurd’

The uncharacteristically strong comments were in response to a Wall Street Journal story outlining what it claimed were the reasons for Sir Jony’s departure. The paragraph that seems to have annoyed Mr. Cook the most is:

Mr. Jobs’s protégé—and Apple’s closest thing to a living embodiment of his spirit—grew frustrated inside a more operations-focused company led by Chief Executive Tim Cook.

Responding, Mr. Cook told NBC’s Dylan Byers:

The story is absurd. A lot of the reporting, and certainly the conclusions, just don’t match with reality. At a base level, it shows a lack of understanding about how the design team works and how Apple works. It distorts relationships, decisions and events to the point that we just don’t recognize the company it claims to describe.

However, Colleen Schwartz, senior vice president of communications at parent company Dow Jones, told TMO: “We stand by our reporting.”  WSJ media reporter Ben Mullin took to Twitter to defend his publication too. He asked if Mr. Cook had specific criticisms of the story.

What reporting? Which conclusions? He doesn’t cite any specifics or mention any correctable errors.

— Ben Mullin (@BenMullin) July 1, 2019

Praise for ‘Phenomenally Talented’ Design Team

Elsewhere in his statement, Mr. Cook heaped praise on Sir Jony’s design team. “The design team is phenomenally talented, he said. “As Jony has said, they’re stronger than ever, and I have complete confidence that they will thrive under Jeff, Evans and Alan’s leadership. We know the truth, and we know the incredible things they’re capable of doing. The projects they’re working on will blow you away.”