Think Secret hävdar att Apple de senaste två veckorna har varslat 60 heltidsanställda, främst i USA. Det rör sig om personal från utvceklingsenheterna, men även utbildnings-grupper har blivit berörda.
Apple has laid off some 60 people in the past two weeks in an effort to cut costs, Think Secret has learned. The majority of the layoffs were full-time employees and were spread across the US.
Think Secret has spoken to ten of the employees laid off, all of them dismissed the week of October 7 -- the week before Apple announced a fiscal fourth-quarter loss of US$45 million. Their positions ranged from members of the Development Executive team spread across America, as well as members of the educational division based in Austin, Texas.
"Apple will try and blow off these layoffs as just part-time employees that are part of seasonal work," one of the sacked workers said, who specifically asked not to be named. "I want to assure you that from talking with many others I know were let go, these layoffs were primarily full-time employees making anywhere from $45,000 to $90,000 a year."
Among the many layoffs included members of the Development Executive team, who are primarily working through regional Apple offices and call on Apple independent dealers and Fortune 500 companies in attempt to "evangelize" Apple video, server, and printing solutions. Dismissals in the educational division ranged from managers to inside account representatives who primarily worked accounts by phone.
The loss of Development Executives is being seen by those still with Apple jobs as a great loss. "I don´t care what anybody says, the layoffs of Development Executives is a major loss," one midwest Apple employee familiar with the situation said. "These people were making a big difference in the field convincing Windows users to switch. The majority of them were very experienced specialists in their fields. I can´t help but think these firings will have a negative impact on sales."
Among the dismissed employees who spoke to Think Secret, all reported being told by Apple the cutbacks were in response to slow sales and slow demand. "They told me it wasn´t just slow sales for the current quarter that led to the layoffs," one fired full-time employee said, who asked not to be identified. "They said that based on current demand and customer interest, they see a continuing slump in sales until at least the middle of next year."
Saxat från Think Secret.
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