Apple Cuts Dozens of Sales Roles Despite Record Revenue Forecast [Report]

Apple has eliminated dozens of roles within its sales organization, a rare move that affects teams serving businesses, schools, and government agencies. The layoffs aim to streamline how the company offers its products to institutional customers, reports Bloomberg.

Management began notifying affected workers in recent weeks. The cuts reportedly span the sales organization, impacting account managers and staff who run Apple's briefing centers. While the company did not disclose specific numbers, the move comes as a surprise given Apple's financial momentum. During the recent earnings call, CEO Tim Cook projected the holiday quarter would be the "best ever" for the company, with revenue potentially reaching $140 billion — making the timing of these cuts all the more unexpected.


Apple appears to be shifting more of this business to third-party resellers, a group it refers to as "the channel." While the company frames the cuts as a way to eliminate overlapping responsibilities, insiders say the real motivation is cost-cutting by offloading day-to-day sales work to external partners that are cheaper to operate.

The reductions hit deep, affecting longtime managers — including some who have been with Apple for 20 or 30 years. One of the hardest-hit groups was the government sales team, which works with agencies such as the Defense and Justice Departments and was already strained by the recent government shutdown and broad spending cuts.

The timing is notable given Apple's renewed push into the education and enterprise markets. The company is reportedly developing a low-cost MacBook to better compete with Chromebooks, a device expected to launch early next year.

Apple confirmed the move in a statement, describing it as a change affecting a "small number of roles" to connect better with customers. Affected employees have until January 20 to find a new position within the company or face termination with severance.


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