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Apple Lays Off More Than 600 Workers in California

FILE - The Apple logo is illuminated at a store in Munich, Germany, Nov. 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, File)
FILE - The Apple logo is illuminated at a store in Munich, Germany, Nov. 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, File)
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Apple Lays Off More Than 600 Workers in California

FILE - The Apple logo is illuminated at a store in Munich, Germany, Nov. 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, File)
FILE - The Apple logo is illuminated at a store in Munich, Germany, Nov. 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, File)

Apple is laying off more than 600 workers in California, marking the company's first big wave of post-pandemic job cuts amid a broader wave of tech industry consolidation.
The iPhone maker notified 614 workers in multiple offices on March 28 that they were losing their jobs, with the layoffs becoming effective on May 27, according to reports to regional authorities.
The workers were cut from eight offices in Santa Clara, according to the filings under the state's Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, also known as WARN. But it's not clear which departments or projects the employees were involved in.
Apple did not immediately respond to an Associated Press request for comment early Friday.
The Cupertino, California, company had been a notable exception as other tech companies slashed their workforces over the past two years. There was a massive surge in hiring during the COVID-19 pandemic, when people spent more time and money online, and big tech companies are still larger than they were before the pandemic. Still, as growth slows, companies are focusing on cutting costs to bolster their bottom lines.
Amazon announced earlier this week a fresh round of layoffs, this time at its cloud computing business AWS. In recent months, video game maker Electronic Arts said it's cutting about 5% of its workforce, Sony said its axing about 900 jobs in its PlayStation division, Cisco Systems revealed plans to lay off more than 4,000 workers and social media company Snap, owner of Snapchat, announced its slashing 10% of its global workforce.

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Huawei’s Tri-Foldable Phone Hits Global Markets in a Show of Defiance Amid US Curbs 

Visitors stand in front of a giant billboard displaying the Huawei's first tri-foldable Mate XT smartphone during an event for its global launch in Kuala Lumpur on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
Visitors stand in front of a giant billboard displaying the Huawei's first tri-foldable Mate XT smartphone during an event for its global launch in Kuala Lumpur on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
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Huawei’s Tri-Foldable Phone Hits Global Markets in a Show of Defiance Amid US Curbs 

Visitors stand in front of a giant billboard displaying the Huawei's first tri-foldable Mate XT smartphone during an event for its global launch in Kuala Lumpur on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
Visitors stand in front of a giant billboard displaying the Huawei's first tri-foldable Mate XT smartphone during an event for its global launch in Kuala Lumpur on February 18, 2025. (AFP)

Huawei on Tuesday held a global launch for the industry’s first tri-foldable phone, which analysts said marked a symbolic victory for the Chinese tech giant amid US technology curbs. But challenges over pricing, longevity, supply and app constraints may limit its success.

Huawei said at a launch event in Kuala Lumpur that the Huawei Mate XT, first unveiled in China five months ago, will be priced at 3,499 euros ($3,662). Although dubbed a trifold, the phone has three mini-panels and folds only twice. The company says it's the thinnest foldable phone at 3.6 millimeters (0.14 inches), with a 10.2-inch screen similar to an Apple iPad.

“Right now, Huawei kind of stands alone as an innovator” with the trifold design, said Bryan Ma, vice president of device research with the market intelligence firm International Data Corporation.

Huawei reached the position despite “not getting access to chips, to Google services. All these things basically have been huge roadblocks in front of Huawei,” Ma said, adding that the “resurgence we're seeing from them over the past year has been quite a bit of a victory."

Huawei, China’s first global tech brand, is at the center of a US-China battle over trade and technology. Washington in 2019 severed Huawei’s access to US components and technology, including Google’s music and other smartphone services, making Huawei's phone less appealing to users. It has also barred global vendors from using US technology to produce components for Huawei.

American officials say Huawei is a security risk, which the company denies. China’s government has accused Washington of misusing security warnings to contain a rising competitor to US technology companies.

Huawei launched the Mate XT in China on Sept. 20 last year, the same day Apple launched its iPhone 16 series in global markets. But with its steep price tag, the Mate XT “is not a mainstream product that people are going to jump for,” Ma said.

At the Kuala Lumpur event, Huawei also unveiled its MatePad Pro tablet and Free Arc, its first open-ear earbuds with ear hooks and other wearable devices.

While Huawei’s cutting-edge devices showcase its technological prowess, its long-term success remains uncertain given ongoing challenges over global supply chain constraints, chip availability and limitations on the software ecosystem, said Ruby Lu, an analyst with the research firm TrendForce.

“System limitations, particularly the lack of Google Mobile Services, means its international market potential remains constrained,” Lu said.

IDC's Ma said Huawei dominated the foldable phone market in China with 49% market share last year. In the global market, it had 23% market share, trailing behind Samsung's 33% share in 2024, he said. IDC predicted that total foldable phone shipments worldwide could surge to 45.7 million units by 2028, from over 20 million last year.

While most major brands have entered the foldable segments, Lu said Apple has yet to release a competing product.

“Once Apple enters the market, it is expected to significantly influence and stimulate further growth in the foldable phone sector,” Lu added.