Apple layoffs disclosed, but company says security guards will be rehired
By Levi Sumagaysay
More than 600 guards throughout California were dismissed by vendor, according to filings, but Apple spokeswoman says that the vendor is changing and the workers will return
Filings with the state of California show that 618 security guards and personnel who worked at Apple Inc.'s offices in Silicon Valley and elsewhere in the state have been laid off, but Apple says a majority have been or will be rehired.
An Apple (AAPL) spokeswoman told MarketWatch on Friday that the tech giant is changing security vendors, and that its new vendor will rehire most of the security personnel, though she did not give a specific number.
"We are adding several new security vendors who will join our existing vendors in providing security services at our facilities in the U.S.," the spokeswoman said. "The majority of security guards impacted by this transition have already accepted positions with the new vendors and we're working closely with our partners to ensure a seamless transition."
Apple is the only tech company worth more than $1 trillion that has not announced layoffs so far. The company spokeswoman declined to say whether changing security vendors was a cost-cutting move, but said the move will not result in a decrease in the number of security guards at Apple's buildings.
For more: More than 127,000 tech-sector employees have lost their jobs since the start of 2023
At other tech companies that have laid off service workers, such as Meta Platforms Inc. (META), promises of rehiring don't mean everyone gets their jobs back. Last year, before its mass layoffsof tech employees, the Facebook parent company chalked up layoff notices related to janitors as a vendor change, but ended up laying off almost 100 of the workers two months after they were told their jobs were safe.
The Apple vendor that employed the security personnel at six locations in Cupertino, Calif., and Sunnyvale, Calif., notified 416 employees in late February that their jobs would be terminated effective April 28, according to a filing with the California Employment Development Department. Also laid off were 115 employees in Culver City, Calif., where Beats Electronics is based, and 87 employees in Elk Grove, Calif., with an address for an Apple distribution center.
The positions affected include "specialists," which appears to be what the company called security guards, plus clerks, lead officers, watch commanders, directors, operations managers and more. None of the positions were union positions, according to the letter from Security Industry Specialists Inc., which has not returned a request for comment.
-Levi Sumagaysay
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March 24, 2023 15:17 ET (19:17 GMT)
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