Apple is putting the brakes on hiring for certain groups because of slowing iPhone sales (AAPL)

Tim Cook

Apple plans to reduce hiring in certain groups, according to a Bloomberg report.
CEO Tim Cook informed employees about the hiring changes during an internal meeting earlier this month, but said it was not decided which groups would be affected.
Cook stressed that Apple was not implementing a broad-based hiring freeze, and noted that some groups, like its artificial intelligence team, would not be affected.

Apple will cut back on hiring for certain divisions as the company re-adjusts its plans in the face of slowing iPhone sales, according to a Bloomberg report on Wednesday.

CEO Tim Cook told employees during a meeting earlier this month that Apple would reduce hiring for certain unspecified groups, but said the company would not impose a hiring freeze, Bloomberg reported citing anonymous sources.

Cook said he still had not fully decided which groups within Apple would be affected.

The comments were reportedly made at an all-hands meeting the day after Apple's surprise disclosure that sales in its holiday quarter fell billions of dollars short of its expectations. Apple blamed the slowing Chinese economy and weaker-than-expected smartphone demand for the shortfall in iPhone sales.

During the all-hands meeting Cook singled out Apple's artificial intelligence group as one area that would not be affected by the hiring slowdown. And he said that plans to open offices in Austin and Los Angeles would also not change, Bloomberg reported.

Apple had 132,000 full-time employees as of September 29. That number includes employees at Apple's Cupertino Calif. headquarters and its various offices, as well as the staffers that work at Apple's network of retail stores around the world.

Apple did not immediately return a request for comment.

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