Apple has laid off more than 200 employees in its Vision Pro and Siri organizations, Bloomberg News reported on the 21st local time. Apple acknowledged the restructuring, saying it was intended to evolve the business and deliver the best experience for users.
About 100 employees are leaving the Vision Products Group, which oversees the mixed-reality headset Vision Pro. The gaming content team for Vision Pro has been largely dissolved, and the Immersive Video production team, one of the headset’s signature features, has also been scaled back.
The other roughly 100 layoffs came from the organization responsible for Siri and connecting AI devices. Apple is rebuilding Siri’s technical architecture from the ground up, which has changed the expertise it needs and led to some staff being included in the reorganization.
Along with the layoffs, Apple said it will create new positions and offer affected employees internal transfer opportunities.
The cuts reveal the direction of Apple’s device strategy. Vision Pro, launched in 2024 at $3,499, failed to open up the mass market because of its weight and high price.
According to Bloomberg, Apple has delayed the launch of the next Vision Pro until after late 2028 and is focusing instead on releasing smart glasses. Since smart glasses will not support immersive video, the related content team has been reduced.
The Siri layoffs are closer to a rebuild than a downsizing. Apple, which has been criticized for falling behind in the voice-assistant race since the rise of ChatGPT, is working to replace Siri’s intelligence with a generative AI-based system.
Rather than retaining staff tied to an outdated structure, demand for AI specialists continues to rise, leading analysts to view this as a reshaping of the workforce rather than an overall reduction in company employment.
The timing also stands out. Apple is approaching a transition next month, when CEO Tim Cook steps down and the company moves to a John Ternus era. Cost pressure has also increased as memory chip prices have risen amid the AI infrastructure investment boom, prompting Apple to raise prices for Macs and iPads.
Analysts say Apple is carrying out a preemptive reset before its new CEO takes over, trimming failing businesses and refocusing resources on smart glasses and AI, its next key battlegrounds.
For the content industry and developers who had bet on Vision Pro, the layoffs signal a change in direction. The message from Apple’s ecosystem is now clear: the next opportunity lies not in headsets, but in glasses and AI.