What's going on with Apple?

A series of key personnel from various departments are leaving Apple, potentially putting pressure on CEO Tim Cook amid rumors of his departure next year.

For a long time, Apple was seen as a model of stability in Silicon Valley. However, things became unstable when many leaders and key personnel left the company one after another.

Within a week, the head of AI and user interface design at Apple resigned. Following this, the company announced that its general counsel and head of government diplomacy were also leaving.

According to Bloomberg , all four report directly to CEO Tim Cook, marking a major shake-up in Apple's leadership. However, things may not stop there.

Major shocks

Last weekend, rumors once again targeted Johnny Srouji, Senior Vice President of Hardware Technology, suggesting that he had expressed to CEO Tim Cook the possibility of leaving the company in the near future.

These rumors prompted Srouji to send a letter to employees on December 8th, reassuring them that he had no plans to leave the company. This was seen as a consolation for CEO Tim Cook, following a period of instability in Apple's senior management.

Many employees in the AI ​​department have also left the company to join competitors, including Meta, OpenAI, and several startups. This could affect Apple's strategy to catch up with rivals in the AI ​​field.

"This is one of the most turbulent periods since CEO Tim Cook took over. While the CEO is unlikely to resign immediately, the company must rebuild its team and find a stronger path to growth in the AI ​​era," analyst Mark Gurman commented.

There have been concerns within Apple, particularly as the company has offered more attractive compensation packages to retain key personnel. In some cases, the reason for leaving is simply retirement age. Even so, Apple continues to experience a brain drain.

Johny Srouji, head of Apple's chip division, is considering leaving the company. Photo: Apple .

Despite developing numerous devices such as foldable iPhones/iPads, smart glasses, and robots, no new Apple product has made a significant impact in the past 10 years. This leaves the company vulnerable to being overtaken by competitors, especially in the rapidly evolving field of AI devices.

Failures in the field of generative AI led to the departure of AI Director John Giannandrea from the company. He will still hold some positions until early next year. Although he hasn't completely left the company, Apple's parting ways with Giannandrea is an implicit acknowledgment of failure.

Most recently, veteran design expert Alan Dye is set to move to Meta's Reality Labs division, Apple's biggest competitor in several areas. Just days after, Apple announced the hiring of Jennifer Newstead from Meta as legal counsel, a former figure who helped Meta win a lawsuit before the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.

Newstead will take over from Kate Adams, who is retiring after eight years at Apple. Lisa Jackson, Vice President of Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives, is also retiring soon. Her responsibilities will be shared among other leaders.

Earlier, the tech world was shocked when Jeff Williams, Cook's longtime associate, retired after more than 10 years as Chief Operating Officer. Another veteran leader, Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri, also scaled back his work in preparation for retirement.

Tim Cook's problem

According to Bloomberg , the mass retirement of executives reflects Apple's demographics. Many senior leaders have been with the company for decades, with ages hovering around 60. Even Cook, who just turned 65 last month, fueled speculation that he too would soon retire.

Sources close to Cook say he won't be leaving the company immediately, even though plans to find a replacement have been underway for years. John Ternus, Vice President of Hardware Engineering (50 years old), is considered by employees to be the leading candidate for CEO.

After stepping down, Cook could move into the chairman position and maintain significant influence. This makes it difficult for Apple to choose an outsider as its next CEO.

There are reports that Tony Fadell, the founder of Nest Labs, is being considered as the next CEO candidate. Despite his role in creating the first iPod, Fadell's departure from the company 15 years ago could create some negative sentiment.

John Giannandrea has resigned as head of AI at Apple. Photo: Bloomberg .

Currently, Cook still frequently travels for work with Apple. Employees have noticed that his hands tremble slightly, although the reason is unclear.

"According to sources, both senior management and lower-level staff have noticed the tremors during meetings and large gatherings. However, those close to Cook insist he remains healthy, dismissing all rumors circulating in Silicon Valley," Gurman said.

Apple's immediate loss is the departure of Johnny Srouji. Cook reportedly tried to retain him, from offering a generous salary to giving him more responsibilities. Internal sources indicate he was even considered for a chief technology officer position, including hardware engineering and semiconductor technology.

However, this change could lead to consideration of making Ternus CEO, a move Apple doesn't seem ready for. Some employees have indicated that Srouji is unwilling to work under a different CEO, even if the title is expanded.

Meta and OpenAI benefit.

If Srouji leaves, Apple could choose one of his two close aides to replace him: Zongjian Chen or Sribalan Santhanam.

These changes are reshaping Apple's leadership structure. The following four individuals now wield greater power: John Ternus (Chief Hardware Engineer), Eddy Cue (Chief Services Officer), Craig Federighi (Chief Software Engineer), and Sabih Khan (Chief Operations Officer). For the AI ​​division, Apple is delegating responsibilities across the entire leadership team.

The next destination for some talented individuals after leaving Apple. Photo: Bloomberg .

Apple itself is facing a talent shortage in its engineering team. The company's human resources department has been instructed to increase recruitment and retain talent.

Robby Walker, who oversaw the development of the new version of Siri, left Apple in October. His replacement, Ke Yang, also resigned after a few weeks to join Meta's Superintelligence Labs.

To fill the void left by Giannandrea, Apple hired Amar Subramanya, a former Google and Microsoft employee, as Vice President of AI. He will report to Federighi.

Despite increased hiring, Apple's AI division is still facing a major staffing crisis, which occurred after AI modeling lead Ruoming Pang resigned. Along with colleagues Tom Gunter and Frank Chu, Pang joined Meta with an attractive compensation package.

Many top AI researchers have also left Apple due to burnout. The company's tendency to rely on external AI technologies, such as Google's Gemini, puts pressure on the internal modeling team.

The AI ​​robotics software development team has seen a mass exodus, including department head Jian Zhang, who also joined Meta. Meanwhile, several members of the desktop display hardware team have moved to OpenAI.

The user interface department has seen many members leave since 2023, culminating in Dye's departure. Meanwhile, the hardware design team, responsible for the product's look and feel, was almost wiped out after Jony Ive left.

Veteran UI designer Stephen Lemay will take over Dye's role. Despite the turmoil, Apple is largely supportive of Lemay's new role, a player who has worked his way up the ranks for over 20 years.

Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams left Apple in November. Photo: Bloomberg .

The wave of resignations at Apple has benefited Meta and OpenAI. In particular, the creator of ChatGPT has recruited many former Apple engineers across various fields, including those who previously worked on iPhones, Macs, camera technology, chip design, audio, watches, and Vision Pro.

OpenAI is also recruiting Cheng Chen, the head of display technology at Apple. Two years ago, the startup also hired Tang Tan, one of Apple's top hardware engineering directors.

Another notable departure is Abidur Chowdhury, who led the iPhone Air design team, and is preparing to join an AI startup. He was a highly promising talent at Apple, and his departure came as a surprise to many.

Earlier this year, Apple lost its head of the University program, an internal program to preserve its culture that operated after co-founder Steve Jobs' death. Richard Locke, who worked at Apple for nearly three years, also left to join the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Source: https://znews.vn/chuyen-gi-dang-xay-ra-tai-apple-post1609331.html