Apple Fires 600 Employees After Scrapping Car, Smartwatch Projects

Apple Inc. laid off more than 600 employees in California following the decision to wind up its car and smartwatch display projects, according to filings with the California Employment Development Department.

The Cupertino, California-based company filed eight separate reports to the state to comply with the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, or WARN program. Companies must file a report to the state agency for each California address that includes employees affected by a layoff.

At the end of February, Apple began to wind down its car project and the smartwatch display program.

According to the reports, 371 employees were laid off at Apple’s main car-related office in Santa Clara, California, while dozens more at multiple branch offices were also impacted. In some cases, members of the Apple car group were relocated to other teams, such as for artificial intelligence or work on personal robotics.