Apple has reportedly laid off some hardware programme managers as it moves to reduce management layers and reorganise parts of its engineering operations, according to Bloomberg reporting cited by MacRumors.
The departures come as CEO John Ternus and chief hardware officer Johny Srouji work to simplify the company’s management structure. Apple has not announced a company-wide workforce reduction, and the number of hardware programme managers affected has not been disclosed.
The reported changes extend to Apple’s display development operations. Long-serving executives Wei Chen and John Zhong, both with around three decades at the company, are moving into advisory roles, while Victor Yin is taking responsibility for much of the display development work. Three engineering leaders — Rajesh Ambati, Louie Sanguinetti and Derek Shaeffer — have also been promoted to vice-president positions, according to MacRumors.
Separately, California employment records show 147 permanent job cuts across three Apple locations in Cupertino and Sunnyvale. The state’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) filing, dated August 20, lists an effective date of October 19. The affected positions span technical functions, including software engineering, machine learning, computer vision, engineering programme management and augmented reality and virtual reality development.
The filing is separate from the latest reported hardware programme manager departures, and there is no confirmation that the two groups overlap. Earlier reporting also pointed to cuts across Apple’s Vision Pro, Siri and software teams, but the available information does not establish a single combined layoff total.
The restructuring comes as Apple increases its research and development spending. According to TheStreet, the company spent around $11.7 billion on research and development in the fiscal third quarter of 2026, up from $8.9 billion a year earlier.
The higher investment reflects increased infrastructure costs, including spending on artificial intelligence, alongside higher headcount-related expenses. However, the reported workforce changes do not establish that AI adoption directly caused the hardware programme manager layoffs.
Apple’s latest moves point to changes in management structure and engineering leadership as it continues investing in research and development. The scale of the hardware-related cuts and whether further workforce changes will follow remain unclear.
