Rumor: Apple axing recently-hired retail store staff
A number of alleged first-hand reports from Apple Store employees point to significant layoffs of recently-hired retail staff, while part-time employees are seeing shorter working hours.
Apple Store employees reached out to MacRumors over the past weeks, saying recent hires are being laid off in the U.K. and a select number of locations around the world.
Adding to the layoffs are reports coming out of the U.S. and Canada that part time staff are seeing long-term cutbacks in hours.
One report from a store in the U.K. claims that all employees with less than six months of experience have been laid off, including a handful of staff who just finished training. New hires and store transfers have also been put on hold, while a source at a different U.K. store said three training groups were laid off this past week.
A report from an unnamed Apple Store noted a similar situation where a batch of new hires had just been laid off, adding that a number of recently-promoted veteran employees had been bumped back down to their original positions without ever receiving the promised pay increases.
While the widespread layoffs have yet to be reported in North American Apple Stores, part-time employees in the U.S. and Canada are facing drastic cuts to working time, with some seeing draw downs to zero hours. In a move seemingly intended to shift hours away from part-time staff, one location has purportedly cut several hundred part-time hours per week and is now limiting vacation time for full-time employees.
Apple's handling of its retail store staff was recently profiled in a New York Times piece in June, which noted employees have "enjoyed little" of the company's great financial success. It was also reported in June that some Apple Store employees would be getting up to a 25 percent wages increase after an internal review found staff to be frustrated with their current pay.
Apple Store employees reached out to MacRumors over the past weeks, saying recent hires are being laid off in the U.K. and a select number of locations around the world.
Adding to the layoffs are reports coming out of the U.S. and Canada that part time staff are seeing long-term cutbacks in hours.
One report from a store in the U.K. claims that all employees with less than six months of experience have been laid off, including a handful of staff who just finished training. New hires and store transfers have also been put on hold, while a source at a different U.K. store said three training groups were laid off this past week.
A report from an unnamed Apple Store noted a similar situation where a batch of new hires had just been laid off, adding that a number of recently-promoted veteran employees had been bumped back down to their original positions without ever receiving the promised pay increases.
While the widespread layoffs have yet to be reported in North American Apple Stores, part-time employees in the U.S. and Canada are facing drastic cuts to working time, with some seeing draw downs to zero hours. In a move seemingly intended to shift hours away from part-time staff, one location has purportedly cut several hundred part-time hours per week and is now limiting vacation time for full-time employees.
Apple's handling of its retail store staff was recently profiled in a New York Times piece in June, which noted employees have "enjoyed little" of the company's great financial success. It was also reported in June that some Apple Store employees would be getting up to a 25 percent wages increase after an internal review found staff to be frustrated with their current pay.
Comments
"The economy has finally caught up with Apple. Apple is doomed."
What's the real story here? This story is like reporting the arrival of firetrucks when the real story is the fire. Talk about poor reporting.
Clearly . . .
Apple is doomed.
Axing staff prior to what will surely be the biggest product release in Apple history seems particularly odd.
Sounds like a phony story by someone intending to short AAPL stock. Keep this up and the SEC might want to have a little chat.
Word about Google afterlife+ survivor benefits have stunned Apple into corporate competition. They will do the same thing with the release of iPhone 5, new Macs, TVever, but only with full-time employees.
Well people were clamoring for pay raises and this looks to be the result. Pay goes up 25% part time hours and staff go down 25%.
Apple has to keep up with insane investor estimates for profit and we can see where the cuts are going to start
What is it, exactly, you, and all those employees (who were informed) don't understand about, "part time, temporary"? LOL
I think if anything, they may be trying to do away with part time employees in favor of those who maintain a full time schedule.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cameronj
Wait, so you're telling me that the uk may have had a temporary need for a lot of employees that has just passed? No way, I find that hard to believe. What could cause such a phenomenon?
It was the London Olympics, not the UK Olympics. And shops actually saw a drop-off in sales in London.
Can't see why Apple are getting rid of these staff. Apple stores are always packed in the UK.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cameronj
Wait, so you're telling me that the uk may have had a temporary need for a lot of employees that has just passed? No way, I find that hard to believe. What could cause such a phenomenon?
I'm kind of wondering that myself. Seasonal requirements can be handled by hiring large numbers of temporary/seasonal staff. It doesn't seem like that was the case here. Something must have changed their predictions in the assessment of their staffing requirements.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Quadra 610
Clearly . . .
...
Apple is doomed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallest Skil
"The economy has finally caught up with Apple. Apple is doomed."
This kind of knee-jerk defensive responses does not really serve a purposeful discussion. Obviously no one believes Apple is doomed (please don't cite links to articles that state otherwise because we all know they are simply baiting Apple believers). But it is interesting that a company renowned for logistics is not managing its hiring more effectively.
Originally Posted by Harbinger
Obviously no one believes Apple is doomed…
Oh, you're sure about that, are you?
Quote:
Originally Posted by RichL
It was the London Olympics, not the UK Olympics. And shops actually saw a drop-off in sales in London.
Can't see why Apple are getting rid of these staff. Apple stores are always packed in the UK.
Actually. It's quite puzzling since they clearly are very good at supply chain management. By deduction, they should know their supply/demand/distribution well enough to plan hiring very accurately.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallest Skil
Oh, you're sure about that, are you?
Ok. So some people do. But is that really an important issue? Is that really the point here?
It could also be a reaction to reduced/revised economic improvement forecasts in the UK. Even if the flag ship stores like Regent St or Covent Garden are frequently very full that does not always mean high sales numbers.
But we should see how this develops as this may well be the (ex-)employee's perspective only and rumours/speculation can spread like wild-fire amongst a knit group who may have all started at the same time.
It could be a seasonal adjustment or John Browett's new strategy coming into play.