Apple Inc. has joined other tech firms in laying off employees, announcing job cuts across teams responsible for its Siri digital assistant and Vision Pro headset as it focuses on new devices and artificial intelligence.The company has also decided to lay off employees in its Intelligent Systems Experience team within its software engineering organisation, which is responsible for some of the AI features on its devices, according to people familiar with the matter.
Apple is shutting down the Vision Pro team focused on gaming and reducing the size of teams responsible for producing immersive video content for the headset. The company is also cutting employees involved in the device’s development, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified because the personnel moves have not yet been announced.
Altogether, more than 200 employees are expected to be affected, with about 100 positions impacted in the Vision Pro organisation and another 100 across sales and software teams.
Acknowledging the realignment of some teams, Apple said in a statement: “To evolve our business to deliver the best experiences for our users, we are realigning some teams. We are grateful to these team members for their contributions, and we are committed to supporting them throughout their transition, including opportunities to apply for other roles at Apple.”
The Siri reshuffling comes as Apple works on an AI-infused version of the assistant built on a new technical architecture. The shift requires different expertise, prompting the company to eliminate a small number of existing roles, relocate resources and create new positions to support the updated Siri. Employees in the Vision Pro division were informed that the layoffs were part of an effort to realign priorities based on how customers use the device and direct resources towards future products.
The Vision Pro was seen as a groundbreaking product when it launched in February 2024. However, the headset’s cumbersome design and its current $3,699 price tag have made it difficult for the product to gain wider consumer adoption.