Apple Car engineering manager departs for Meta role

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware
The Apple Car has encountered another setback, with the loss of another engineering manager from the vehicle project to Meta.




The Apple Car has suffered from a consistent turnover of employees joining and leaving the long-rumored project, and it seems the pattern is set to continue in 2022. The head of software engineering for the Apple Car has reportedly exited Apple, in favor of a role at a competitor.

Joe Bass was the Lead Engineering Program Manager for Autonomous Systems at Apple since January 2015. As spotted by Mark Gurman in Bloomberg's "Power On" newsletter, he has changed his LinkedIn profile in January, showing he left Apple for a new position elsewhere.

After leaving Apple, he's now working at Meta, as the Director of Technical Program Management for Mixed Reality Technologies.

Bass departs shortly after a number of other engineers did the same in December. Initially, one senior director of engineering for the Special Projects Group left for electric plane startup Archer Aviation, shortly to be followed bytwo more at the same company, while one other left for Joby Aviation.

While it is speculated to be years before Apple ships an Apple Car to consumers, possibly doing so by 2025, it is thought that Apple could announce a strategic electric vehicle partnership sometime in 2022, which could lay the groundwork for the eventual launch.

Even with the high-profile recent departures, it's still plausible for an Apple Car launch to stay on schedule to meet forecasts.

Read on AppleInsider

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 10
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    Bosa said:
    Apple Car has a new lead so the old people are leaving, pretty normal
    That’s likely true but that’s not how this article is framing and spinning it.
    StrangeDayswatto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 10
    genovellegenovelle Posts: 1,481member
    lkrupp said:
    Bosa said:
    Apple Car has a new lead so the old people are leaving, pretty normal
    That’s likely true but that’s not how this article is framing and spinning it.
    Right! They were the other guys team and may have seen the writing on the wall and bailed before they got canned. They also may have seen their hopes at promotion to the Executive Level position fade into the darkness. 
    williamlondonspock1234
  • Reply 3 of 10
    entropysentropys Posts: 4,268member
    Why would you leave Apple for a meta though…money isn't everything.
    spock1234GeorgeBMacravnorodomStrangeDaysDogpersonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 10
    entropys said:
    Why would you leave Apple for a meta though…money isn't everything.
    Just imagine the kind of person who would willingly choose a boss like Zuck instead of one like Cook!  ..shudder… Would you want to work for, or with, this person? 

    All I can say is that I am glad this person left Apple. My experience in corporate America taught me that toxic personalities tend to congregate. Kraft and Pfizer are good examples. 
    BeatsravnorodomStrangeDayswatto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 10
    The car industry is a huge pie, I doubt Apple would give up on it; but nobody knows what their objectives are, still a mystery... 
    byronlravnorodomwatto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 10
    entropys said:
    Why would you leave Apple for a meta though…money isn't everything.
    They have many interesting technical challenges. I wouldn't want to work for them but I think people like this can choose what they work on. Looks like he is going to work on their AR efforts, pretty cool.
    GeorgeBMacravnorodomwilliamlondon
  • Reply 7 of 10
    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac Posts: 11,421member
    entropys said:
    Why would you leave Apple for a meta though…money isn't everything.

    It isn't.   And, guys at this level didn't get there chasing a paycheck.
  • Reply 8 of 10
    williamhwilliamh Posts: 1,044member
    When an employee leaves, sometimes it's a gain and not a loss.
    StrangeDaysspock1234watto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 10
    michelb76 said:
    entropys said:
    Why would you leave Apple for a meta though…money isn't everything.
    They have many interesting technical challenges. I wouldn't want to work for them but I think people like this can choose what they work on. Looks like he is going to work on their AR efforts, pretty cool.
    I understand. If only Apple was working on AR, or if Cook had publicly stated that AR, and not VR, was the future of Apple ..... but wait, they do and Cook did. I guess it was something else then ... 🤔 
    watto_cobra
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