Apple is heavily restructuring some of its key technology departments, and more than 200 jobs have been cut in Vision Pro, Siri and other software operations, the report said. Apple has traditionally been wary of large-scale layoffs and usually focuses on redeploying employees when business strategies change. The latest reorganisation is in line with Apple’s increasing focus on artificial intelligence and the changing priorities of spatial computing products.
According to a Bloomberg report, more than 100 positions are being eliminated from the organisation working on Vision Pro, with another 100 or more roles said to be cut across Siri and other software teams. Apple is also said to be reducing the size of its Intelligent Systems Experience team, which works on artificial intelligence features and experiences across the company’s devices.
The restructuring comes as Apple is trying to reorganise its artificial intelligence strategy. Siri, Apple’s voice assistant, which is one of the most closely watched areas, is going to be one that we are going to see Apple’s voice assistant (Apple is going to be radically reoriented in the future to AI; the company is rumoured to have a new AI-powered version of Siri, and AI is likely going to be the next major upgrade. The changes are designed to make Siri more capable and useful in Apple’s increasing number of devices and services.
Apple hasn’t said that the restructuring has been all about jobs. In a statement cited in reports about the changes, the company said it would create new positions (and so do a few people who have already worked there) as part of the transition and that it will assist affected employees during that time by finding them jobs in other positions of the company.
The developments also show the direction of Apple’s Vision Pro business. Rather than abandoning the mixed-reality headset altogether, Apple is adjusting its approach based on customer use and where resources are most useful. Vision Pro and visionOS will be around, but Apple is investing in areas that are strategic at a higher level looking forward to the future.
Gaming is now more of a focus for the Vision Pro platform. This could indicate Apple’s awareness that gaming and interactive experiences could offer great potential to immersive technology. Vision Pro has been marketed for productivity, entertainment, spatial computing and immersive video, but the company is surely reconsidering how it can grow and keep users in a highly competitive technology market.
Apple’s immersive video ambitions are also being changed - not abandoned. The company is likely to produce fewer original immersive videos and lean on external companies and content creators. This could mean Apple continues to provide premium immersive viewing experiences without a lot of internal resources for content production.
A lot of the changes come at the moment when Apple is facing increasing competition in artificial intelligence. In the technology industry, companies are all over the map investing in generative AI, AI assistants and intelligent software features. Apple has to accelerate AI efforts as its rivals have come up with more sophisticated AI-based products and services.
Siri is therefore likely to be a key part of Apple’s AI strategy. A redesigned Siri might also offer better conversational capabilities, more contextual understanding and deeper integration with Apple’s operating systems. And the company already has said that AI will be a big part of the future for the software ecosystem, so it's important that teams that are related to Siri and intelligent systems are integrated and restructured.
But for employees, the changes are uncertain as Apple reorganises teams to eliminate some of the current positions. New positions might be created for some of them (AI and other strategic technologies, for example) and some move to new roles. But those who are left with jobs and experience in the current positions will have an uncertain job life.
The restructuring is not because Apple is ignoring Vision Pro or Siri. It seems like a restructuring and reallocation of resources as the company assesses customer demand, technological opportunities and AI development in the future. Vision Pro and visionOS will remain in Apple’s product ecosystem, and Siri is positioned for a more AI-focused future.
The next few months will see if Apple's new strategy can deliver the results the company wants. For customers, the changes may eventually translate into a better Siri, a more capable Siri, more AI integration for Apple devices, a stronger AI integration with more AI and gaming and more high-quality gaming and other things like Vision Pro’s gaming experiences for Vision Pro.
At Apple, the restructuring is another indication that artificial intelligence is becoming central to its long-term strategy. It’s still investing in existing products but is increasingly focusing on technologies that might determine the next phase of its growth.
