Apple not planning mass layoffs, says CEO Tim Cook as he bets big on India

Apple CEO Tim Cook on Thursday assured that his company is not planning big layoffs, sidestepping a trend widely visible across the USA’s tech sector. In an interview with CNBC’s Steve Kovach, Cook said firing employees was a last resort for the company. “I view that as a last resort and, so, mass layoffs is not something that we’re talking about at this moment,” Cook added. Although, he didn’t rule out the possibility of job cuts in the near future.

Apple slows the rate of hiring

The Apple CEO made it clear that the company was taking steps to cut costs and has already slowed the rate of hiring. “We’re continuing to be extremely prudent on hiring. We’re continuing to hire, just at a lower clip level than we were before,” Cook said. “And we’re doing all the right things of challenging the things that we spend, and we’re just finding a few more ways to save on it,” he further said.

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Watch:Apple CEO Tim Cook slams Silicon valley

Unlike its major rivals, Apple didn’t go on a hiring spree during the pandemic, which puts the company in a better position even as the economic outlook deteriorates.

Apple beats quarterly earnings estimates

The major announcement from Tim Cook came as Apple’s quarterly earnings of $1.52 per share beat the estimates of $1.44 per share, a positive surprise of 5.56 per cent. The company posted revenue of $94.84 billion for the quarter ended March 2023, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.63 per cent.

Apple bets big on India

Apple CEO on Thursday also heaped praises on India, while indicating that he was looking at the country as not just a major market but also a bigger production base. "Looking at the business in India, we did set a quarterly record, grew very strong, double digits year-over-year. So it was quite a good quarter for us. Taking a step back, India is an incredibly exciting market. It's a major focus for us,” Cook said, while saying that the country is at a "tipping point’".

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Cook also mentioned that he looked at India as an exciting market, and the country remains a prime focus for the company. Apple recently opened its first official store in India’s Mumbai and plans to open another in the coming days.

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