Apple cuts 147 California jobs in Vision Pro and Siri restructuring

IBTimes UK, citing California WARN filings, said Apple is cutting 147 jobs across Silicon Valley: 79 at Apple Park in Cupertino, 40 at one Sunnyvale office and 28 at another nearby site. Separations are scheduled to begin on 19 October. The filing lists headcount, not job titles.

People familiar with the matter told IBTimes UK that most of the 147 are software engineers, many involved in augmented and virtual reality work. The 147 figure comes from California WARN filings; Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported more than 200 cuts overall, split roughly evenly between about 100 in the Vision Pro organisation and another 100 across Siri and related software teams.

Apple confirmed the restructuring, saying the changes were made "to evolve our business to deliver the best experiences for our users."

"While we will create new roles as part of this change, it will also impact a limited number of existing roles. We are grateful to these team members for their contributions, and we are committed to supporting them throughout their transition, including opportunities to apply for other roles at Apple."

Vision Pro teams scaled back

The Vision Pro launched in February 2024 as a major new product category for Apple, Times Now said. IBTimes UK put the launch price at $3,499, while Times Now and Engadget cited $3,699. IBTimes UK described the headset as bulky, with a restrictive app ecosystem.

Apple has trimmed teams working on Vision Pro gaming and immersive video, IBTimes UK said, with the gaming team largely disbanded and the immersive video production unit significantly reduced. Producing immersive video required multiple Apple teams and outside contractors, and individual episodes can cost millions of dollars, Times Now said. The active user base never grew large enough to justify that overhead, IBTimes UK said.

Apple plans fewer in-house immersive productions and more reliance on outside companies for Vision Pro content, Times Now said. An updated M5-powered Vision Pro has not delivered the uplift Apple is used to seeing from core device upgrades, IBTimes UK said.

Siri rebuild drives other cuts

The Siri cuts target teams working on the old version of the assistant, Engadget reported. Apple is rebuilding Siri on a new technical architecture for AI-powered capabilities, which requires different skills, IBTimes UK said. The changes also include Apple's Intelligent Systems Experience team, which works on AI features across its devices, Times Now said.

Vision Pro and visionOS continue

Apple told employees that Vision Pro and visionOS are not going away, and it still plans a new model for release as early as 2028, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman wrote. The near-term focus is shifting to smart glasses, which would not support the same immersive video or high-end gaming, Times Now said. The executive who ran Vision Pro recently left for OpenAI, and teams have been pulled off the headset to work on rumored AR glasses, Engadget reported.