Why Apple thought AI could replace 5,000 AppleCare workers & what happened to the plan
Apple drew up a plan over the summer to lay off about 5,000 AppleCare customer support workers and hand much of their work to AI agents, but the move is now on hold, Bloomberg reports. The plan was based on the belief that improved AI phone and web agents could handle parts of their job. It comes as new CEO John Ternus overhauls the company.
Apple has scrapped a plan to lay off around 5,000 AppleCare customer support staff and replace their work with AI agents. The decision was not due to any failure of the AI, but part of a broader strategy by new CEO John Ternus. Bloomberg reported the change came just weeks after Ternus, previously Apple's hardware engineering chief, took over the CEO position from Tim Cook on September 1.
The AI-powered phone and web agents Apple developed were seen as capable of handling tasks currently performed by the support staff. Many of the workers in line for the cuts were remote employees. Currently, Apple is not considering the layoffs, and the company has not made any public comments on the proposal. Ternus aims to make Apple smaller, faster, and more focused on engineering.
He wants to reduce layers of middle management and potentially shift the launch calendar from fixed spring and autumn windows to more flexible timing. The immediate impact for AppleCare employees is a relief, as their jobs are safe for now.
Written by urgent.news from Times of India's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
