Apple Trimming 200 Employees From Beats Team to Streamline Overlapping Functions

beatsbydreAs part of its pending acquisition of Beats Electronics and Beats Music, Apple has begun making offers to Beats employees that will see roughly 200 of Beats' 700 positions phased out over the next few months. News of the job cuts was first reported by 9to5Mac yesterday, with additional detail provided by the New York Post.

According to the reports, most of the job cuts will be in human resources, finance, and other areas where there is overlap between Apple and Beats staff. Some Beats employees will reportedly transfer to Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, while others will remain at Beats' current facility in the Los Angeles area.

Apple has issued a statement to Re/code confirming that some Beats employees have received only temporary offers from Apple as part of the transition.

Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr’s explanation: “We’re excited to have the Beats team join Apple, and we have extended job offers to every Beats employee. Because of some overlap in our operations, some offers are for a limited period and we’ll work hard during this time to find as many of these Beats employees as we can another permanent job within Apple.”

Apple's $3 billion deal to acquire Beats and its headphone and streaming music businesses has been approved by European regulators, but will not be finalized until U.S. regulators sign off on the deal. Apple indicated at the time the acquisition was announced that it expects the deal to close this quarter.

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Top Rated Comments

TimUSCA Avatar
148 months ago
While I am not anti Dr Dre, Beats do suck and this deal was overpriced, much like ALL Apple products.

GO APPLE!

PS, I own lots of Apple products, but will never buy Beats, even if Apple owns them and again, NOT because I am anti Dr Dre or Iovine.

So... you hate Beats because they're overpriced. But you buy Apple products even though you believe they're overpriced just like Beats? And then you top it off with a "GO APPLE!" to let all of us know you aren't talking trash about Apple.

You seem like a very confused individual. Or you're trying way too hard to jump on the anti-Beats bandwagon.

Lastly, it's impossible to say that the Beats acquisition was overpriced because you still don't know why Apple bought them. There's speculation, but even if any of it is true, you haven't seen the results. If we get years down the road and the acquisition hasn't made much of a difference, then yes, it was overpriced. But at this point in time, it sounds like you're just circlejerking over Beats headphones.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Adokimus Avatar
148 months ago
"overlapping function" = Finally being able to fire the slackers without the ramifications of doing do.;)

200 people just lost their job and means of income. No need to be a self-righteous dick about it. This stuff happens, but try to have a heart once in awhile. I can't believe you're currently the top comment. So fortunate that no one here has ever faced hardships like these 200 "slackers" who you coincidentally know nothing about.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iMcLovin Avatar
148 months ago
its funny how 2-3 guys can get 2-3 billions while 200 aint even worth a job. Just shows how wrongly balanced our society is. Nobody is worth that more than any other person, even if his excrement is worth its weight in gold. The world is twisted.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NachoGrande Avatar
148 months ago
"overlapping function" = Finally being able to fire the slackers without the ramifications of doing do.;)
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sza Avatar
148 months ago
Acquired it, then kill it.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Orlandoech Avatar
148 months ago
While I am not anti Dr Dre, Beats do suck and this deal was overpriced, much like ALL Apple products.

GO APPLE!

PS, I own lots of Apple products, but will never buy Beats, even if Apple owns them and again, NOT because I am anti Dr Dre or Iovine.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)