Apple’s new CEO cuts managers to ship products faster, Bloomberg reports

Apple’s new chief executive, John Ternus, is reshaping the company to release products more often and cut layers of management, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. Ternus, 51, took over on 1 September after Tim Cook’s 15 years in the job. Apple declined to comment.

Ternus wants Apple to rely less on its fixed spring and autumn launch schedules, according to the report. He also wants the company to be more experimental in the AI era.

Managers and budgets

In the past two weeks, Apple dismissed a number of engineering programme managers in its hardware engineering group, Bloomberg reported. They include about half a dozen directors. They have weeks to find other roles inside Apple or will be laid off later this year.

Ternus wants to remove some layers of middle management, according to the report. Apple has also made small cuts in its Siri, Vision Pro, AI software and Fitness+ teams.

Some budget increases planned for 2027 have been reduced, Bloomberg reported. Headcount is being held flat and marketing spending has been cut. Staff can no longer bring plus-ones to holiday parties.

“Everything is a lot more hands-on than it used to be… It’s hectic right now,” one person told Bloomberg.

AppleCare plan on hold

Over the summer, Apple drew up a plan to lay off about 5,000 AppleCare support workers and use AI agents in their place, according to the report. That plan is now on hold. Apple is not currently looking to take such a step, Bloomberg said.

Apple already routes calls to its AppleCare line in the US and Canada to a generative AI assistant, MacRumors reported in August. Apple raised AppleCare+ prices in July.

Costs and revenue

The cost of memory chips is rising, and Apple is absorbing some of it, Bloomberg reported. Services revenue fell from the previous quarter in the June quarter. That was the first such fall since 2022.

Ternus, services chief Eddy Cue and chief financial officer Kevan Parekh are looking for new sources of revenue, according to the report. Cue took over the App Store from Phil Schiller in a reshuffle at the end of August.

Apple plans AirPods with cameras, its first smart glasses and a 20th-anniversary iPhone for next year, Bloomberg reported. Ternus unveiled his first product lineup this month. It included the iPhone Duo foldable, priced at $1,999.