Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL, ETR:APC) has laid off over 600 workers after scrapping plans to produce an electric vehicle (EV).
Some 614 employees were informed of cuts in late March, according to California state records, marking the technology giant’s first significant round of layoffs since the pandemic.
Many of these are set to be at Apple’s Santa Clara offices, where the company had been developing plans for an autonomous electric vehicle.
Apple abandoned the plans in February following delays and concerns over profit margins from selling such cars.
According to Bloomberg, many of the wing’s 2,000 employees moved to Apple’s artificial intelligence division following the U-turn.
Cuts are also set to affect workers in Apple’s display development office in Santa Clara, with plans to make next-generation Apple Watch screens in-house also scrapped.
Apple avoided cutting staff in line with big technology rivals last year, having hired at a slower rate during the pandemic, which prompted demand to soar.