Apple has cut dozens of sales roles in a rare restructuring aimed at streamlining how it sells to businesses, schools and governments while shifting more institutional sales toward third-party resellers.
Apple has reportedly cut dozens of sales roles as part of a rare restructuring aimed at sharpening how it sells Macs, iPads and services to businesses, schools and government agencies.
According to Bloomberg, the layoffs were communicated over the past two weeks and spanned multiple parts of Apple’s global sales division.
These are said to include enterprise account managers, education specialists and staff at Apple’s high-touch briefing centres, where large institutional clients typically receive in-person demos and roadmap presentations.
While Apple didn’t disclose the exact number of jobs eliminated, employees say some teams were hit disproportionately hard, including the group responsible for U.S. government sales.
Apple framed the move as a strategic realignment rather than a cost-cutting exercise.
A spokeperson said in a statement: “To connect with even more customers, we are making some changes in our sales team that affect a small number of roles.”
The spokesperson added Apple is still hiring and displaced workers are encouraged to apply for new positions.
Affected employees have until January 20th to secure another internal role before facing termination with severance.
Internally, however, the cuts are being seen as part of a broader shift toward channel-driven sales.
Sources told Bloomberg that Apple is increasingly steering institutional customers toward third-party resellers – a move that reduces salary overhead and plays to established buying preferences in sectors like government and education.
The timing adds to the surprise, as Apple is heading into what’s projected to be its strongest quarter in company history, on track to post nearly $140 billion in revenue.
The company is also reportedly preparing to launch a new low-cost Mac laptop in early 2026 aimed squarely at education and budget-conscious enterprise buyers.
Still, Apple’s “last resort” layoff ethos has softened in recent years.
The company made deeper cuts in 2024 after shuttering its self-driving car effort and scaling back internal hardware projects, and it has since trimmed several AI and services teams.
In contrast to peers like Amazon and Meta – which have collectively shed tens of thousands of roles – Apple’s reductions remain comparatively modest, but no longer unheard of.
Apple ‘eliminates dozens of sales roles in an effort to boost product offerings for businesses’
