Apple Lays Off Sales Employees in One of Its Rarest Workforce Reductions

Apple Inc. has laid off dozens of employees from its sales department in a bid to streamline how it sells products to businesses, schools, and government agencies — marking one of the rarest workforce reductions at the tech giant. Management informed affected employees over the past couple of weeks, according to media reports citing people familiar with the matter.

The company cut roles across multiple layers of the sales division, with some teams hit harder than others, though Apple did not disclose the exact number of positions eliminated. Employees said the move came as a surprise, given that large-scale layoffs are uncommon at Apple compared to its tech peers.

According to Bloomberg, affected positions include managers handling major enterprise, education, and government accounts, as well as staff who run Apple’s briefing centre — a key venue for institutional meetings and high-profile product demonstrations for prospective large customers. Apple confirmed on Monday that it is reshuffling the division but declined to offer further details on the restructuring.

“To connect with even more customers, we are making some changes in our sales team that affect a small number of roles,” an Apple spokesperson said. “We are continuing to hire, and those employees can apply for new roles.”

The layoffs follow a smaller round of cuts several weeks ago involving around 20 positions in Apple’s sales teams in Australia and New Zealand. Employees impacted in the latest round have until January 20 to secure another role within the company; those unable to do so will be terminated with severance, Bloomberg reported.

Apple is positioning the reorganisation as an effort to streamline the sales workforce, eliminate overlapping responsibilities, and improve efficiency as customer engagement models evolve. However, reports suggest that the company is increasingly shifting portions of its enterprise and education sales operations to third-party resellers — a move that could help lower internal costs such as salaries and support functions.

The cuts come despite Apple posting its fastest revenue growth in years. For the September quarter, the company generated $102 billion in revenue, up 8% year-on-year. Analysts expect Apple to report nearly $140 billion in revenue for the December quarter, potentially setting a new record for the iPhone maker.