How long will Apple be the only tech giant to have avoided recent major layoffs?
The current mood in Silicon Valley isn’t on the pleasant side.
A number of Big Tech companies and Wall Street giants have announced plans to lay off employees in thousands in the coming weeks and months. PayPal, Google’s parent company Alphabet, Microsoft, and Amazon have decided to cut 2,000, 12,000, 10,000, and 18,000 jobs. Companies that were once considered one of the safest places to work have demonstrated in recent months that they are also not immune to the effects of economic slowdown.
However, there is one name that has stood out in this particular storm.
So far, tech giant Apple seems to have sailed safely through the perfect storm of pandemic-related supply chain issues, swelling inflation, and the deadly war in Ukraine without having to perform any major reduction in its workforce.
CEO Tim Cook acknowledged the scores of obstacles facing the company on the quarterly earnings call on Thursday afternoon. Apple’s earnings report was not all sunshine and rainbows.
Here are three key takeaways from the company’s first-quarter results.
- Apple recorded a revenue of $117 billion, a 5% drop from the previous year. For the decline in sales, the Covid-related restrictions imposed on manufacturing units in China have been blamed. The restrictions in a way limited the supply of the new iPhones during the holiday season.
- Despite the drop in sales, Cook took an optimistic tone on the call. He highlighted that there are now two billion active Apple devices and that the supply chain issues that affected the availability of the new iPhones during the holiday season are now alleviated.
- On layoffs, the CEO, who has taken an over 40% cut to his pay this year, said “I view layoffs as a last resort kind of thing,” adding “you can never say never.” He even mentioned that the company has been curtailing hiring in certain areas, but continues to hire in other areas.
