Apple plans to hire 20,000 workers over four years instead of cutting jobs like competitors

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) is going in a different direction than other major technology companies when it comes to staffing decisions, choosing to add workers instead of cutting them.

The technology industry has been hit hard by job losses recently. Data from Challenger, Gray & Christmas shows tech companies led all other industries in cutting jobs during 2025, with 154,445 job losses out of 1.2 million total announcements that year.

The situation got worse in early 2026, with 52,050 cuts in the first three months alone, a 40% jump compared to the same time in 2025.

Big names like Meta (NASDAQ: META) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) announced major job cuts last month. Oracle (NYSE: ORCL) and Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) also reduced their staff by thousands. But Apple has taken a different approach. In early 2025, the company said it would add about 20,000 workers over the next four years.

Industry watchers say Apple’s outgoing CEO Tim Cook has been careful about hiring and spending money, which helps explain why the company isn’t cutting jobs like its competitors.

The companies that aren’t slowing down their massive AI expenditures are ironically the same ones that have been involved with the most layoffs. However, Cryptopolitan noted previously that Trump and Big Tech may eventually regret the layoff spree.

Apple has mostly stayed out of this pattern

“The other companies over-hired around digital advertising in the pandemic and have been cutting back in general and to free up cash for AI CapEx [capital expenditure],” Evans said. “Apple did not over-hire and is not doing AI CapEx.”

The numbers tell the story. Microsoft plans to spend around $190 billion this year, up from $88 billion in 2025, mostly on Azure AI, OpenAI systems, and data centers. Meta increased its spending plans last week to between $125 billion and $145 billion for the full year, up from $115 billion to $135 billion. The company blamed higher prices for parts and more data center costs.

Apple reported just $4.3 billion in spending for the first half of its fiscal year ending March 28.

Not everyone has been happy about Apple’s strategy on AI. Ross Gerber warned in January that Apple had “completely missed the AI boat” under Cook’s leadership.

However, Mark Muro from Brookings researcher, said Apple has always moved at its own speed.

The company hasn’t been at the front of the AI rush, which has made things less chaotic for them over the past five years. But he wonders if staying back means Apple won’t have a strong position in AI going forward.

Manufacturing Academy trains 150 businesses in AI applications

Meanwhile, Apple held a major event for its Manufacturing Academy in East Lansing, Michigan. Hundreds of manufacturers gathered at Michigan State University for the program’s first Spring Forum. The event showed how American companies are using lessons from the academy to improve their operations.

Block Imaging, a Michigan company that fixes medical equipment like CT scanners and MRI machines, showed visitors how the program helped them work better. Katie Runyon, who runs technical training there, said the academy gave her team useful tools they could use right away on the work floor.

The academy started last year as part of Apple’s $600 billion investment in the United States. The free program puts Apple engineers together with experts from Michigan State to help small and medium businesses learn about AI and smart manufacturing. It’s the only program like this in North America.

So far, more than 150 American businesses have gone through training sessions, and the academy just started offering online classes.

On a different front, Apple agreed Tuesday to pay $250 million to settle a lawsuit in California federal court. The case accused Apple of lying about AI features on its iPhones, which the company calls Apple Intelligence.

People who bought iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 models between June 2024 and March 2025 can get between $25 and $95 each.

Apple didn’t admit doing anything wrong but wanted to end the case. A company spokesperson said the lawsuit focused on just two features among many AI tools Apple released.

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