Apple is expected to slow hiring and spending due to recession concerns

Apple is planning to slow down on its internal hiring and spending. As concerns of an impending recession continue, the tech giant hopes to be cautious of spending as a hit to the economy may rear its ugly head.

Those familiar with the matter state that Apple will remain cautious about hiring staff for roles in certain departments. From the sounds of it, a pause in hiring isn’t a company-wide policy. Instead, it looks like it will be on a more case-by-case basis.

Interestingly enough, news of this comes following Apple’s strong endurance throughout COVID-19. Other tech companies and businesses faced difficulties throughout the pandemic. However, Apple was able to continue launching products and new devices.

Since the slowdown has been reported, Apple has seen its shares drop as much as 2 percent to $147.20 USD (roughly $191.07 CAD). Over the course of 2022, Apple’s stock has dropped roughly 17 percent. Though, the company is not alone in this trend. Competitors and other major tech companies are also facing declines.

Apple’s decision to slow down on spending is echoed across companies such as Amazon, Meta and Google. Each is said to be looking at reducing its own hiring and spending as well in the event that a recession impacts the economy.

Within Apple, each division is typically given an annual budget to spend on research, development, resources, and hiring. When looking at 2023, reports indicate that the company will be giving select divisions a lowered budget. For example, some teams won’t be able to increase staffing in 2023. Typically, many divisions see a 5 to 10 percent increase in a year.

It’s worth noting that Apple is said to be expanding into new ventures in 2023 with the launch of its long-reported mixed reality headset. However, due to the company not offering a comment on the matter, it remains to be seen if this division is being affected.

Earlier this year, Apple surpassed Wall Street’s predictions, earning $97.3 billion USD (roughly $124.6 billion CAD) and $25 billion USD (about $32 billion CAD) in net quarterly profits in Q2 2022. This was largely in part due to iPhone sales and services. Analysts expect Apple to report roughly $83 billion for Q3 2022. These results will be reported on July 28th.

Source: Bloomberg