Apple to lay off around 200 workers from Beats following acquisition

By Trevor Mogg Published July 31, 2014

Workers at Beats Electronics are about to experience the consequences of Apple’s recent acquisition of the company, with 9to5Mac reporting Wednesday that the tech giant is set to lay off around 200 staff, equal to about 30 percent of its workforce.

Recommended Videos

Jobs are reportedly going in areas that see overlaps between the two companies, with human resources and finances two departments likely to be hit, 9to5Mac said.

Citing people with knowledge of the restructuring as its source, the report said many of those working in development and creative positions have been retained by the Cupertino company.

Apple executives have reportedly visited Beats’ California headquarters on several occasions in recent days to lay out the tech firm’s plans for its much publicized acquisition, at the same time handing out notices to workers deemed surplus to requirements.

While some employees have reportedly already been given their marching orders, others could be offered work until early next year. To assist those who’ve been told their services are no longer required, Apple has apparently set up a dedicated phone line, operated by Apple’s human resources staff, offering information on things such as transition plans and severance deals.

$3 billion buyout

Apple announced its intention to buy Beats Electronics back in May in a deal worth $3 billion – the most it’s ever spent on such a move. Founded by Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine back in 2006, the company became known for its stylish consumer hardware offerings, with its distinctive headphones proving particularly popular with fashion-conscious music fans.

More recently, it entered the highly competitive music streaming space with Beats Music, a service that could ultimately end up becoming part of iTunes Radio, Apple’s own music streaming effort. With the acquisition, Apple brought on board talent and technology that it hopes will help boost its presence and popularity in the music streaming market.

Apple’s reported decision to offload a number of its Beats employees comes just a couple of weeks after thousands of Nokia workers learned they’d soon be out of a job following Microsoft’s acquisition of the Finnish mobile company last year. The computer giant is undergoing massive restructuring resulting in 18,000 job losses, with around half of these going at Nokia.

Topics

Apple

Contributing Editor

Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…

Computing

How to change margins in Google Docs

Laptop Working from Home

When you create a document in Google Docs, you may need to adjust the space between the edge of the page and the content --- the margins. For instance, many professors have requirements for the margin sizes you must use for college papers.

You can easily change the left, right, top, and bottom margins in Google Docs and have a few different ways to do it.

Computing

What is Microsoft Teams? How to use the collaboration app

A close-up of someone using Microsoft Teams on a laptop for a videoconference.

Online team collaboration is the new norm as companies spread their workforce across the globe. Gone are the days of primarily relying on group emails, as teams can now work together in real time using an instant chat-style interface, no matter where they are.

Using Microsoft Teams affords video conferencing, real-time discussions, document sharing and editing, and more for companies and corporations. It's one of many collaboration tools designed to bring company workers together in an online space. It’s not designed for communicating with family and friends, but for colleagues and clients.

Computing

Microsoft Word vs. Google Docs

A person using a laptop that displays various Microsoft Office apps.

For the last few decades, Microsoft Word has been the de facto standard for word processors across the working world. That's finally starting to shift, and it looks like one of Google's productivity apps is the heir apparent. The company's Google Docs solution (or to be specific, the integrated word processor) is cross-platform and interoperable, automatically syncs, is easily shareable, and perhaps best of all, is free.

However, using Google Docs proves it still has a long way to go before it can match all of Word's features -- Microsoft has been developing its word processor for over 30 years, after all, and millions still use Microsoft Word. Will Google Docs' low barrier to entry and cross-platform functionality win out? Let's break down each word processor in terms of features and capabilities to help you determine which is best for your needs.
How does each word processing program compare?
To put it lightly, Microsoft Word has an incredible advantage over Google Docs in terms of raw technical capability. From relatively humble beginnings in the 1980s, Microsoft has added new tools and options in each successive version. Most of the essential editing tools are available in Google Docs, but users who are used to Word will find it limited.