Apple Cuts 600 Jobs After Dropping Self-Driving Car Project

Apple is laying off over 600 employees in California, mainly affecting workers from its halted self-driving car project. On March 28, Apple notified the state’s employment department that 614 employees at various offices would be laid off in May. The employees were informed that layoffs would take effect on May 27.

Apple has reportedly stopped its plans to make electric vehicles (EVs) 10 years after it was first rumored to be working on such a project. The company has never officially confirmed the project, which reportedly included 2,000 people.

According to California’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act filings, most layoffs occurred in Apple’s 8 Santa Clara offices. The specific departments or projects these workers were part of remain unclear.

Bloomberg reported that Apple laid off 371 workers from its main car project office in Santa Clara, California, and affected dozens more across other sites. Some of the car project team members were moved to other areas within the company, like artificial intelligence and personal robotics.

Apple’s decision to cut jobs is part of a broader pattern of job reductions across the tech industry. According to tracker layoffs.fyi, there have been more than 58,000 job cuts in the tech industry so far in 2024. Well-known companies like Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Snap, and PayPal have also announced job cuts in the tech sector.