Rumor: Apple axing recently-hired retail store staff - Page 2

 

I've given this a lot of thought over the past two minutes, and I think they do.

:) +1

 

If the London Olympics opening or closing ceremonies are any indicator of the organizational abilities or work ethic of Londoners, I'd recommend firing the lot of them.

Sorreeeee

That's an interesting comment! The new VP has one chance to put his imprint on the Apple stores. It's called "new blood".

Apple's greed is reaching a new level. They make about $60 billion a year in profits yet want to save a small amount of about $1-2 million by laying off minimum wage retail employees. This is sad. 

It's a classic move in retail for 4th quarter fiscal to have less hours so this isn't a shock to me.

My guess is that many of them were axed do much as told they wouldn't be promised hours every week or even anything more than 3 or 4 depending on state rules about minimum shift times. So they quit rather than keep time open for a job that might not use them.

I will say that is what thing we do right in the industry. If the production wants you to hold availability for them they have to pay you whether they use you or not, especially with tv shows. A one day actor can end up paid for 7-8 days because they don't know what day thy need the person.

I'm afraid not enough people have mentioned that....

 

 

APPLE IS   D-O-O-M!

 

 

There. Someone had to say it for the third time.

Edited by Relefunt - 8/13/12 at 8:11pm

What makes you an expert? They are running a business, just like any other. Their obligation to shareholders is to make a profit. Furthermore, such an idiotic comment fails to take into account that this is a rumor! If you are going to be posting here newbie, try to use some common sense.

Yep there is that also.

A massive influx of expected traffic due to an event that has never been to the area, nor anything close to that amount, isn't something Apple is likely to have data concerning with which to base predictions on.

Folks coming to see the Olympucs might travel the country a bit before or after. Why not since you are there

And the drop off might be why any seasons arent being kept. They hired expecting 1000% more traffic and only got 200% more. And with the Olympics wrapping up Apple doesn't need all of them and can't afford to keep them. That could be all that is going on here

If folks would put them on ignore and stop quoting them etc, it wouldn't matter if they were banned or not.

Point taken, but part timers are also harder to train and schedule, and may not have the same dedication to Apple if they are balancing demands of other jobs. There also is the possibility that Apple has found that much like in trauma surgery or many other fields, the best practitioners are those who practice their craft the most. Someone who deals with Apple products for 40+ hours a week will be more adept than one who deals with them for 20 or less. I also seem to remember an article where part timers were complaining that Apple retail was forcing them to work too much. They might have decided that it was not worth the trouble. On the other hand, I am sure that there are many employees (college students, parents, etc.) who were excellent in a part time capacity and it will be a shame for Apple to lose such high quality people.

 

It would matter to non-account guests who would read their posts, see them not be questioned, and think that what they're saying is being accepted by the community as accurate or acceptable in any way.

 

There's one vBulletin feature we miss more than any other that relates to this… 

 

Yep. I actually have that written on my chest in reverse, Memento-style, so that it's the first thing I see when I wake up (my entire bedroom is nothing but mirrors; helps me know that there's only me and my opinions).

 

… And now I genuinely want to know what happens when you turn on a flashlight inside a mirror box.

 

Fair criticism of Apple /= "Trolling." That you can't see the difference is an issue in and of itself.

Guess there won't be that many Apple Geniuses available on airplanes anymore...

 

I'd rather live in a world where trolling can exist, unlike what you're laughably suggesting.

John Browett has finally caught up with Apple.

Doom has been Appled.

 

News at 11.

What feature? Down voting?

Not surprised.

 

When I went to my nearby Apple Store about a month ago, it's afternoon on Sat, and guess what, at most 30-40% of the staff were serving customers, while the rest were just standing there chatting.

 

It's a good time to contain cost for AAPL, can't afford another earning miss.

 

 

I thought the EXACT same thing!

"Set phasers to 'Apple is doomed'..."

 

 

He has someone to answer to. 

This is wrong on Apple's part to do this by letting people go and not caring about their jobs at all. A typical corporation only giving a dam about the money they make. Corporate Capitalists!
 

Shhhh, some people have to talk to feel important.  Facts about the economy, poor hiring practices or other worthy subjects are not important.

You do realize that some people base their whole worthiness on the success of a company they have nothing to do with?  To be critical of said company is a direct attack on them so they must respond.

Why is this considered a rumor? Why would it be unusual for Apple to lay off staff, every company has laid off staff in the past year or so. I didn't think such a practice would be considers odd if Apple were to do it.

What kind of bullsh!t reporting is this? Rumor mill crap is all it is. WTF are your sources? I'm going to LMAO when Apple turns their attention to rags like this. You can go in to either of our local Apple stores just about any time and find standing room only. I am friends with several of the employees(part and full time) at both stores and have heard absolutely nothing like this. In fact a couple of my friends working part time are complaining about their hours being increased to the point it is interfering with their college classes.

 

Quit putting crap on the front page and perpetuating rumors that waste our time. Apple Insider my A$$!
 

 

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

iDevice and Mac Lover

Rob Bond - Cary, NC USA - 25 Year Retired Navy Photographer

4th Gen iPod Touch 64gb iOS5.1.1/New iPad 4G LTE 64gb iOS5.1.1/Mac mini 2.7GHz Core i7, 8GB RAM, OS X 10.8/2012 15" MBP 2.6GHz Quad i7, 8GB RAM, OS X 10.8/Win7

Edited by bondr006 - 8/14/12 at 10:53am

Given this is a rumor (I assume that is still the case) I don't want to get in too deep in this .... but given the UK's tax level on goods I doubt Apple would see their Apple Stores as being massively attractive to visitors to the Olympics. Unlike when UK folks get to visit the States ... where an additional empty suitcase is a very good idea to fill with goods to take back from the USA.

 

If this is the case, I sure hope Apple made it clear to these people that the work was seasonal before Apple hired them...

 

And why fire them now? The Paralympics haven't taken place and the numbers of visitors won't be that far down from the Olympics. 

Because it is a rumor with no named sources? I mean it's not like Google who publicly announced 4K were being layed off from Motorola.

You obviously don't know the first thing about running a business. Sheesh.

 

It's neither right nor wrong. It isn't Apple's job to "care about their jobs" (it's, at most, the government's.) Whatever's in the contract. That's all anyone has to answer to. 

 

It's a JOB. WORK. When human capital is for whatever reason no longer required to do that work, either not at all or in lesser amounts, something very common and very normal happens. 

 

Besides, it's RETAIL. That alone tells the entire story. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Be sure to thank them for your Mac Mini. They kinda made it possible for you to post your fluff on the internet. 

The only part of this story that I think is worth discussing is that Apple is laying off newly trained staff. I'm not sure what Apple's training is like, but in most businesses training someone just to have them leave is a big deal. Apple got zero productivity out of these trainees, and the capital tied to them is lost.
 

 

There's much truth in this.

FWIW Guys... in case you all just read the news in the USA  :)

 

As of last Christmas 2011...

"Weakening economies and falling prices of rival smartphones are hurting sales of Apple iPhones across Europe, data from research firm Kantar Worldpanel ComTech showed on Thursday...

In part, the European sales of the expensive Apple model were hit by weakening economies across the continent. However, in France its share slipped to 20 percent from 29 percent and in Germany to 22 percent from 27 percent. Similar drops were seen in Italy and Spain..."
 

As of Jul 12...
In Spain a whopping 84.1% of smartphones sold were running Android. The lowest sales were in Italy which still saw 49.6% sales. In every other country mentioned above, Android smartphone sales were above 50% of total smartphone sales.

 

My point isn't slamming Apple or saying Android is better - rather, as a marketer, and I see those stats - I know can't maintain a presence or employee base if sales aren't there to support it.
The Europeans aren't like us Americans. They don't get the same price subsidies from the cell carriers like we do, they are MUCH MUCH more price sensitive than we are, and overall, aren't into technology
like those of us in the US.

 

 

The only problem with that is that there are reports that training groups and people just out of training were laid off. I assume that Apple can read a calendar and realized when the Olympics would end.

It's a rumor - and may well include a wide variety of unrelated factors. For example:
- Olympics ending may have accounted for some layoffs
- Some of the employees may have been incompetent or had bad attitudes and were laid off for that reason
- Lower than anticipated sales growth may have accounted for some
- A new retail strategy could account for some

Let's wait until there are some facts before starting all the "Apple is doomed" crap.