Apple’s New CEO Plans Major Overhaul

Apple’s newly appointed CEO, John Ternus, is considering extensive changes aimed at enhancing the company’s engineering focus. The plan involves introducing products at a quicker pace and streamlining the organization, as reported on Tuesday.

Initial ideas include moving away from Apple’s established spring and fall product launch schedule. There are also discussions about cutting some middle-management positions to create a closer connection between engineers and top executives, according to sources familiar with the situation.

Ternus, who has been with Apple for 25 years and has a long history as the hardware chief overseeing numerous iPhone generations, took over from Tim Cook this fall. Analysts believe this leadership shift highlights the importance of Apple’s hardware ecosystem in driving the company’s growth.

The report indicates that cost-cutting initiatives are already in motion, with Ternus also seeking new revenue avenues and methods to derive more value from existing products.

Apple has yet to provide a comment on the matter.

Internally, Ternus has hinted that Apple needs to be more agile in product introduction and to embrace a more experimental approach, especially to stay competitive amid the rise of artificial intelligence.

Typically, Apple hosts major annual events in June and September focused on software development and new devices, respectively.

Recently, Apple made its foray into the foldable smartphone market with the $1,999 Duo iPhone. Analysts foresee that this move could help make foldable devices more mainstream, similar to the impact Apple had on smartwatches and wireless earbuds.

As part of the restructuring, Apple’s hardware engineering division has started reducing engineering program management roles, resulting in layoffs affecting several program managers, including around six directors.

The company has also significantly cut teams focused on the Siri digital assistant, the Vision Pro headset, and AI-related software engineering, some of which were linked to employee performance.

Ternus is looking into how AI might expedite product development and automate tasks currently handled by employees.