A day after we broke the news of about 60 layoffs across the Apple Vision project, there are reportedly more in the Siri team too.
Citing people familiar with the matter, the same as we did, Mark Gurman from Bloomberg has exposed more layoffs inside Apple. This time, beyond the Apple Vision team, Apple is also laying off staff on its Siri team.
All told, including Apple Vision Immersive Video, Apple Vision gaming, and Siri, there are about 200 layoffs in total.
"While we will create new roles as part of this change, it will also impact a limited number of existing roles," Apple said to Bloomberg. "We are grateful to these team members for their contributions, and we are committed to supporting them throughout their transition, including opportunities to apply for other roles at Apple."
As we've said, and Gurman reiterates, Apple isn't abandoning visionOS, Immersive Video, or gaming. Apple has reportedly told employees that the visionOS operating system isn't going away, and the layoffs are "to evolve our business to deliver the best experiences for our users."
The layoffs in the gaming-adjacent developers on the Apple Vision team are most likely because of a general lack of interest in gaming on the platform. While third-party efforts like iVRY are excellent, they still require an external Windows PC to work.
Immersive Video team layoffs are mostly a cost-cutting measure. The report repeats that every episode of an immersive video costs millions of dollars to film. Given the limited uptake of the platform to date, that's been a bit of a financial strain.
Instead, Apple will make fewer videos like the impressive Submerged in-house. At the same time, it will encourage other companies to make the content instead.
The Siri layoffs are said to be due to an architectural change inside Siri, driven by AI integrations. Some existing roles are being eliminated in the division, and others are being created.
A new Apple Vision Pro model is still rumored to debut at some point in 2028. Plans change, and a new CEO will be in place very soon.
