Mikey Campbell
Countering an earlier rumor that Apple would cull some 200 employees from Beats' roster, a report on Friday cites an Apple spokesperson and inside sources as saying the company is instead doing the opposite by extending job offers to keep everyone on board.
Citing sources familiar with the situation, Billboard reports Apple has extended job offers to all incoming Beats employees, refuting a rumor earlier this week that said some 200 people — 40 percent of Beats' global workforce — would be laid off as part of the assimilation.
"Every single person is going through Apple orientation, they're signing up for healthcare," one person said.
Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr issued a statement yesterday saying much the same.
"We're excited to have the Beats team join Apple, and we have extended job offers to every Beats employee," Neumayr said. "Because of some overlap in our operations, some offers are for a limited period and we'll work hard during this time to find as many of these Beats employees as we can another permanent job within Apple."
While no one was immediately axed, aside from "about five" performance-based firings, the publication says a "large number" of incoming Beats workers have been warned of possible termination that could take place in the next three months to a year. According to reports, those with "overlapping" roles are mainly in human resources, finance and legal departments.
Apple on Friday officially finalized a $3 billion deal to acquire Beats Electronics and Beats Music. A subsequent report claimed Beats Music CEO Ian Rogers will serve as the new head of iTunes Radio, to join Beats cofounders Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre in Cupertino.
Malcolm Owen
Christine McKee
Amber Neely
30 Comments
Whatever. Hey, it stinks to be laid off, but get serious... Does anyone really think Apple needs any of these employees?
[quote name="SpamSandwich" url="/t/181665/apple-refutes-beats-layoff-rumors-says-every-employee-offered-a-job#post_2572734"]Whatever. Hey, it stinks to be laid off, but get serious... Does anyone [I][B]really[/B][/I] think Apple needs any of these employees? [/quote] I'm curious to know the makeup of Beats employees. Is it mostly people working on their music app do they have a bunch of engineers that worked on the hardware side? The hardware design was contracted out. I would think most Beats employees would be redundant.
What's interesting is; I believe this is the first time I've heard the word "rumor" associated with this story in any way. Just goes to show...
[quote name="SpamSandwich" url="/t/181665/apple-refutes-beats-layoff-rumors-says-every-employee-offered-a-job#post_2572734"]Whatever. Hey, it stinks to be laid off, but get serious... Does anyone [I][B]really[/B][/I] think Apple needs any of these employees?[/quote] Does Apple need every single one of those people in the positions they are in now? Of course not, but I think a company in Apple's position, if they want to do the ethical thing, will offer positions to these 200 people from their acquisition. Imagine if Apple were to buy companies just to gut them and give everyone a pink slip. It would make look bad and it would kill a lot of loyal customers along the way. I think this action shows a social responsibly and if you create ill will it can slowly build and destroy you. These 200 people may have to accept positions at a lower wage, likely in a new position, and may have to relocate. That's the admirable thing to do and you get 200 employees that you have a history with already by way of Beats' HR. I'm glad Apple is doing this and I was shocked on the previous thread with the rumour of the cuts under Cook.
What's interesting is; I believe this is the first time I've heard the word "rumor" associated with this story in any way.
Just goes to show...
Everything here is a basically a rumor unless it comes from an Apple press release or SEC filing.
Not an interesting detail at all.