Apple said to cut some 200 jobs from Beats as acquisition closing date looms

Posted:
in General Discussion edited August 2014
As Apple takes control of Beats Music and Beats Electronics, the Cupertino, Calif. company is said to be paring some 200 jobs from the music software and hardware firm's roster.



According to sources speaking with the New York Post, Apple is culling about 200 Beats employees as part of its $3 billion acquisition, which is set to close on Aug. 1.

"Last week everyone was given an offer from Apple. Some were transitional offers with a set end date," one source said.

As noted by the publication, the 200 employees represent about 40 percent of Beats' global workforce, a substantial downsizing that will likely be filled internally once Apple is in full control of the company.

A separate report from Bloomberg corroborates the claims, saying expected cuts are to come from human resources, finance and other departments that overlap with existing roles at Apple. The publication goes on to say Apple plans to fire the workers after the acquisition is firmly in place.

News of the layoffs was first noted by 9to5Mac.

Apple's Beats buy has been overshadowed as of late by rumors of an impending iPhone refresh. Most recently, the European Commission gave Apple the green light to go forward with the acquisition, noting the two companies' combined market share in the headphone business does not come close to that of competing companies.

Last week, audio giant Bose sued Beats' hardware arm, claiming infringement of patented noise canceling technology. Apple will inherit the lawsuit when it takes over operational control in August.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 40
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member

    Doooooooooooooooooooooomed!™

  • Reply 2 of 40
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    I would have much rather read a story where Apple gives 200 Beats employees in obsolete positions a chance to least get hired on at Apple, even if they are support roles and have to move to Cupertino, than simply being shown the door.

    That reminds me of slick businessman Steve Castle who would dismantle companies like this before he was diagnosed with boneitis and had to be cryogenically frozen to wait for a cure. The only thing That Guy ever regretted was having boneitis.
  • Reply 3 of 40
    realisticrealistic Posts: 1,154member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post



    I would have much rather read a story where Apple gives 200 Beats employees in obsolete positions a chance to least get hired on at Apple, even if they are support roles and have to move to Cupertino, than simply being shown the door.



    That reminds me of slick businessman Steve Castle who would dismantle companies like this before he was diagnosed with boneitis and had to be cryogenically frozen to wait for a cure. The only thing That Guy ever regretted was having boneitis.

    I think that Apple is smart enough to offer positions to the Beats employees that could fit well into the needs of the overall company. As with any merger some positions become redundant and it makes no sense, for example, to put a career finance person into a support position as they will leave as soon as they can find another position in finance.

  • Reply 4 of 40
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    realistic wrote: »
    I think that Apple is smart enough to offer positions to the Beats employees that could fit well into the needs of the overall company. As with any merger some positions become redundant and it makes no sense, for example, to put a career finance person into a support position as they will leave as soon as they can find another position in finance.

    I understand that, but there is a difference between "we can give a severance package or you can take a lower position at Apple right now with or without a pay cut" and "we're letting you go, here's your severance package." I think the moral thing to do is to not push anyone out if you have acquired them and they have been productive for the company you've purchased, no matter how high or low on the scale. I think mass layoffs, like what MS is doing with Nokia in Finland, just taints your brandname.
  • Reply 5 of 40
    If the acquisition does not go through, does this mean they have hired all the Beats people that constitute Beats value to Apple? Just wondering!!!
  • Reply 6 of 40
    anantksundaramanantksundaram Posts: 20,403member
    If the acquisition does not go through, does this mean they have hired all the Beats people that constitute Beats value to Apple? Just wondering!!!

    The acquisition will, so the issue is moot.
  • Reply 7 of 40
    jkichlinejkichline Posts: 1,369member

    When two companies merge, there will be overlap in functions, typically on the administration side (finance, office management, etc).  It's quite feasible that 40% of the company are these types of people that have duplicate positions at Apple. It would stand to reason that you need to let them go at some point, but there's nothing saying that they couldn't apply to Apple HQ.  The report does say global, so there's a good chance a lot of this is retail presence overseas which would be handled by Apple's logistics and fulfillment.  They probably don't want to move to California, or are no longer needed.

  • Reply 8 of 40
    andysolandysol Posts: 2,506member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post





    I understand that, but there is a difference between "we can give a severance package or you can take a lower position at Apple right now with or without a pay cut" and "we're letting you go, here's your severance package." I think the moral thing to do is to not push anyone out if you have acquired them and they have been productive for the company you've purchased, no matter how high or low on the scale. I think mass layoffs, like what MS is doing with Nokia in Finland, just taints your brandname.

    Its not 20,000 people.  Its 200 people.  Walmart likely has that number weekly.

  • Reply 9 of 40
    radarthekatradarthekat Posts: 3,842moderator
    solipsismx wrote: »
    I understand that, but there is a difference between "we can give a severance package or you can take a lower position at Apple right now with or without a pay cut" and "we're letting you go, here's your severance package." I think the moral thing to do is to not push anyone out if you have acquired them and they have been productive for the company you've purchased, no matter how high or low on the scale. I think mass layoffs, like what MS is doing with Nokia in Finland, just taints your brandname.

    I think its just a fact of the world of business that every business carries the overhead of human resources and accounting employees and that these positions are subject to elimination when two companies combine their businesses. It goes with the job description, just as the promise of additional work is not guaranteed to one who works as a contract employee; when a contract ends, that might be the end of your relationship with the company you contracted with. That sort of thing. I really don't feel there's necessarily a moral obligation in these contexts.
  • Reply 10 of 40
    radarthekatradarthekat Posts: 3,842moderator
    One can hope that this elimination of jobs includes any in-house legal counsel Beats has on board. That arm of the company clearly didn't do its job to do due diligence on whether Beats was infringing patents when the company incorporated noise cancelation into its products. Someone was sleeping on the job.
  • Reply 11 of 40
    bloggerblogbloggerblog Posts: 2,462member
    Apple tells 200 employes to Beat it.

    Sorry, I couldn't help myself
  • Reply 12 of 40
    doggonedoggone Posts: 377member
    Definitely sad that people will be let go but the severance is likely to be good.

    Also if Beats total # of employees is about 500 then a good chunk of those will have received share options. With the sale price of $3B a lot of the employees will be making a ton of money.
  • Reply 13 of 40
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SpamSandwich View Post

     

    Doooooooooooooooooooooomed!™


    I'm gonna sue you for using my Doomed™ trademark.   ;)

  • Reply 14 of 40
    calicali Posts: 3,494member
    LOL!!! and you apple trolls were bashing ms for 18,000 layoffs just a week ago!! now Apple lays off 200!!!!!!!

    WHO'S DOOMED NOW???????????!!!!!!!!!!

    Aple Is dooommed!!
  • Reply 15 of 40
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by RadarTheKat View Post



    One can hope that this elimination of jobs includes any in-house legal counsel Beats has on board. That arm of the company clearly didn't do its job to do due diligence on whether Beats was infringing patents when the company incorporated noise cancelation into its products. Someone was sleeping on the job.



    This allegation has yet to be proven in a court of law. Interesting that Bose only went after Beats once Apple acquired them...

  • Reply 16 of 40

    Its not very good, Sorry for everyone.

  • Reply 17 of 40
    solipsismx wrote: »
    That reminds me of slick businessman Steve Castle who would dismantle companies like this before he was diagnosed with boneitis and had to be cryogenically frozen to wait for a cure. The only thing That Guy ever regretted was having boneitis.
    Superb Futurama reference.
  • Reply 18 of 40
    mdriftmeyermdriftmeyer Posts: 7,503member
    All the HR, Accounting and Sales folks tend to be cut. It's common sense.
  • Reply 19 of 40
    realisticrealistic Posts: 1,154member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post





    I understand that, but there is a difference between "we can give a severance package or you can take a lower position at Apple right now with or without a pay cut" and "we're letting you go, here's your severance package." I think the moral thing to do is to not push anyone out if you have acquired them and they have been productive for the company you've purchased, no matter how high or low on the scale. I think mass layoffs, like what MS is doing with Nokia in Finland, just taints your brand-name. 

    You are placing a lot of trust in how this is going down based on an article posted on basically a rumor site not known for accuracy or investigative reporting.

  • Reply 20 of 40
    philboogiephilboogie Posts: 7,675member
    realistic wrote: »
    solipsismx wrote: »
    I understand that, but there is a difference between "we can give a severance package or you can take a lower position at Apple right now with or without a pay cut" and "we're letting you go, here's your severance package." I think the moral thing to do is to not push anyone out if you have acquired them and they have been productive for the company you've purchased, no matter how high or low on the scale. I think mass layoffs, like what MS is doing with Nokia in Finland, just taints your brand-name. 
    You are placing a lot of trust in how this is going down based on an article posted on basically a rumor site not known for accuracy or investigative reporting.

    But Bloomberg isn't a rumour site:

    http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-07-30/apple-said-to-cut-200-jobs-at-beats-after-acquisition.html

    Though they did prematurely publish Steve's obituary, so much for fact checking:

    http://www.cnet.com/news/bloomberg-mistakenly-publishes-steve-jobs-obituary/
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