Apple Laying Off Some Corporate Retail Employees

Apple is planning to cut a small number of corporate retail employees that are on its development and preservation teams, reports Bloomberg. The employees that are part of the downsizing handle the construction and upkeep of Apple retail locations worldwide.

apple park night 2
It is not clear how many positions Apple is eliminating, but Bloomberg says the cuts are "likely very small." Still, this is the first known report of Apple culling its internal workforce to cut spending. Back in June 2022, the company laid off up to 100 contractors that handled recruiting, but contractors are not full-time workers. Apple has also cut engineers and security guards that held contracting roles.

Apple told employees that these are not layoffs, but streamlining, and that the changes are aimed at improving the upkeep of stores globally. Those who were cut have the option to reapply for positions similar to their prior job, and those who do not take on a new role could get up to four months of pay.

Apple in November paused hiring for most jobs outside of research and development, and in March of this year, Apple expanded the hiring freeze. For many teams, Apple has halted hiring, and when employees leave, positions are being left open. Slowing hiring has allowed Apple to avoid the widespread layoffs that other tech companies have announced in recent months.

Twitter has eliminated thousands of employees following the takeover by Elon Musk, and last month, Facebook announced plans to lay off approximately 10,000 employees. Microsoft cut its AI ethics team in March following several prior layoff events, and Google parent company Alphabet laid off 12,000 employees in January.

Popular Stories

hikawa phone grip stand apple%402x

Apple Launches Second Limited-Edition iPhone Accessory in a Month

Friday November 21, 2025 3:53 am PST by
Apple has begun selling the Hikawa Phone Grip and Stand, a new limited-edition iPhone accessory designed with accessibility in mind. Designed by LA-based Bailey Hikawa to celebrate the 40th anniversary of accessibility at Apple, the grip uses magnets to securely snap onto any iPhone with MagSafe. Apple says it can be removed with ease, and doubles as a stand with two different viewing...
iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Adds These New Features to Your iPhone

Thursday November 20, 2025 10:50 am PST by
iOS 26.2 is currently in beta testing. The upcoming update includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, including a new Liquid Glass slider for the Lock Screen's clock, offline lyrics for Apple Music, and more. In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 26.2 will be released to all users in December, but it did not provide a specific release date. Keep reading...
Apple Shopping Event 2025

Apple Announces 2025 Black Friday Event, Here's What You Can Get

Thursday November 20, 2025 6:28 am PST by
Apple's annual four-day Black Friday through Cyber Monday shopping event is returning on Friday, November 28 through Monday, December 1 in many countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Thailand, and others. During the shopping event, customers can get an Apple gift card with...
maxresdefault

The MacRumors Show: iPhone 18 Pro Looks Like a Huge Upgrade

Friday November 21, 2025 9:10 am PST by
On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we talk through all of the new features and improvements expected to come to next year's iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max models. Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos Apple's next-generation iPhones are less than ten months away and we already have a good idea about what to expect based on corroborated leaks, rumors,...
Apple Foldable Thumb

Foldable iPhone to Debut These Two Breakthrough Features

Wednesday November 19, 2025 7:26 am PST by
Apple's first foldable iPhone is expected to launch alongside the iPhone 18 Pro models in fall 2026, and it's shaping up to include two standout features that could set it apart from the competition. The book-style foldable will reportedly feature an industry-first 24-megapixel under-display camera built into the inner display, according to a recent JP Morgan equity research report. That...
ipad black friday 2025

The Best Early Black Friday iPad Deals

Thursday November 20, 2025 10:20 am PST by
Black Friday is just over a week away, and iPad deals have finally started to flood in at retailers like Amazon and Best Buy. Below we're tracking discounts on every current generation iPad, including lowest-ever prices on M3 iPad Air and M5 iPad Pro, plus steep markdowns on iPad and iPad mini. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a ...
General Black Friday Deals 25 Red

Apple Black Friday Deals Available Now on AirPods, iPads, Accessories, and More

Friday November 21, 2025 8:48 am PST by
We're officially less than one week away from Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 28 in 2025. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

iOS 27 Will Reportedly Have Two Key Upgrades

Sunday November 23, 2025 8:48 am PST by
iOS 27 will reportedly have two major elements: quality improvements and new AI features. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that iOS 27 will be similar to Mac OS X Snow Leopard, in the sense that Apple is focused on improving "quality and underlying performance" over adding new features. Gurman said there is one exception to this rule, though, as he expects...
Low Cost MacBook Feature A18 Pro

Report: Low-Cost iPhone, iPad, MacBook Coming Early 2026

Friday November 21, 2025 2:26 am PST by
Apple is planning to release new entry-level models across its iPhone, iPad, and Mac categories early next year, with an all-new affordable MacBook the most notable addition to the lineup. According to a new research report by Jeff Pu of GF Securities seen by MacRumors, Apple will launch the iPhone 17e – its second iteration of the "e" line – in the spring, likely along with a...

Top Rated Comments

rpmurray Avatar
35 months ago

Apple told employees that these are not layoffs, but terminations (AKA firing).
Fixed this for you.
Score: 33 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Ion-X Avatar
35 months ago
Apple: Makes $30 billion in profit every quarter

Also Apple: Here let’s fire some people making $30 an hour! That’ll really move the needle.
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Saturnine Avatar
35 months ago
I find it quite sad that a company with $20B in cash, another $180B in investments and assets, which made a profit of $30B in the last quarter alone feels the need to lay off some of its lower earning employees.

I understand that all areas of a business should be individually profitable and that this is the nature of doing business, but there’s just something about it that feels morally wrong. Gotta keep that share price high and squeeze out a few more million in profit rather than keep relatively low-earning Josh from Ohio and hundreds of others in a job.
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sw1tcher Avatar
35 months ago
Tim Cook's like "If I gotta take a pay cut ('https://www.macrumors.com/2023/01/12/tim-cook-taking-pay-cut-in-2023/'), then I'm gonna fire some people."
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
7149041 Avatar
35 months ago

What is "corporate retail"?
My guess is "corporate retail employee" is someone working for the Apple corporation on running the stores, where a "retail employee" would be a person simply working at an Apple Store.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
LeeW Avatar
35 months ago
Even Apple has to think about spending. Google, FaceBook, Twitter, and others shouldn't have hired the numbers they did in the first place.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)