Apple lays off over 600 employees in California after abandoning electric car plans

Apple is laying off 614 employees in California in its first major round of job cuts post-pandemic. According to the WARN notice posted by California, Apple notified the affected employees on March 28. The changes will go into effect on May 27. While the notice doesn’t specify which projects the employees were working on, Bloomberg reports that most of the affected employees were working at buildings related to its cancelled car project, while others were working at a facility for its next-generation screen development.

Apple winded down both of these projects towards the end of February. Apple first started working on its car project, known internally as “Project Titan,” in 2014, and internally revealed that it was cancelling it on February 27. Bloomberg reported at the time that some remaining employees who were working on the car project would be shifted to Apple’s generative AI projects.

A week before that, Apple had winded down its efforts to design and develop its own smartwatch displays. The displays were supposed to be added to the company’s Apple Watch before potentially going to the company’s other devices.

The WARN notice reveals that affected Apple employees worked at eight locations in Santa Clara.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.