Apple to lay off around 200 workers from Beats following acquisition

By Trevor Mogg 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.

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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.

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Contributing Editor

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