Apple To Delay Bonuses For Some Employees, Limit Hiring To Cut Costs: Report

Apple is reportedly implementing cost-cutting measures that include delaying bonuses for some of its employees.

The iPhone maker is also rolling back on its hiring plans and reviewing budgets, according to a Bloomberg report.

Some of Apple's teams were previously receiving bonuses and promotions twice a year — once in April and October. However, the new plan would lead to bonuses or promotions being handed out only once a year in October. Employees who were expecting a bonus or promotion this April will not see one.

The report said most of Apple's divisions, including software engineering and services, had already scrapped the biannual plan of bonuses and promotions. However, employees in operations, corporate retail and other divisions were still receiving the benefits twice a year. These divisions are now slated to move to a once-a-year schedule.

Under Apple's new plan, employees reportedly will still receive their full bonus amounts in the fall in one installment instead of two. This might come as a blow to staffers who planned their personal budgets based on the biannual bonus schedule.

The move could also help Apple retain employees who were planning to quit after receiving their bonuses in April.

In addition to the changes in the bonus and promotion schedule, the Cupertino-based company will also reportedly limit hiring and is keeping a close eye on travel budgets.

Apple's move comes as big Silicon Valley companies try to weather a climate of uncertainty. Tech giants like Meta and Alphabet's Google have also taken cost-cutting measures.

Apple has managed to avoid layoffs as opposed to its tech peers because its hiring and spending during the COVID-19 pandemic was more toned down. But it still had to trim budgets and curtail hiring plans across several divisions in light of sales slowdown and a revenue decline during the holiday quarter.

"We're being very prudent and thoughtful on spending and we continue to be very deliberate when it comes to hiring," Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said last week during a shareholder meeting.

An announcement in January revealed that Cook was also taking a 40% pay cut following a shareholder vote. His compensation for 2023 was $49 million following the cut.

The tech giant's December quarter earnings were about 5% lower than they were in 2021. The tough environment had forced Apple to revise budget plans, Cook previously said.

"Well, we invest for the long term, and we run the company for the long term. And so if you look at what we're doing, we're also recognizing the environment that we're in is tough. And so we're cutting costs. We're cutting hiring," Cook told CNBC last month. "We are being very prudent and deliberate on people that we hire. And so a number of areas in the company are not hiring at all."

"Others are hiring that are associated in engineering primarily. And so we're being prudent and deliberate. If you look at our opex guidance last quarter, or what we said we were going to do this quarter, we came in a half a billion dollars underneath it. And so we are squeezing cost out," he added.

Last August, Apple also changed its office attendance policy. It told its employees to work from the office at least three days every week. Following this, some of its retail staffers alleged their superiors were pushing them to quit by asking them to work more hours than previously agreed upon.