Apple Shut Down Key AI Team: Siri Shake-Up
Apple shut down a crucial 121-person team dedicated to enhancing Siri’s capabilities, which could potentially lead to job losses for several employees. The team, primarily based in San Diego, has been instructed to relocate to Austin, Texas, merging with the existing Texas division of the same team.
Apple employees have until the end of February to decide whether they will make the move, with termination slated for April 26 for those who opt not to relocate. The company’s decision, confirmed by an Apple spokeswoman, is part of a broader effort to consolidate its “Data Operations Annotations teams in the US” at the Austin campus, where the majority of the team is already situated.
The impacted group, with additional offices in China, India, Ireland, and Spain, is responsible for refining Siri’s functionality by assessing the accuracy of the voice service’s responses to user queries. The announcement to disband the San Diego team came from Christine DeFilippo, a key deputy to Apple’s AI chief, John Giannandrea.
Apple reassured employees that those willing to move to Austin will have the opportunity to retain their positions. However, for many San Diego-based staff, this relocation came unexpectedly. The AI team had been operating from a rented office, anticipating a move to a new Apple campus in the local area at the end of January. Instead, the relocation will be to Texas, a decision met with resistance from a majority of affected workers, according to sources.
The move impacts employees focused on Siri use in various languages, including Hebrew, English, and multiple dialects of Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, and French. Concerns have arisen among employees who feel they may not be eligible for alternative roles within Apple due to a lack of engineering backgrounds.
Apple is offering a $7,000 relocation stipend for employees willing to move to Austin by the end of June. Those choosing not to relocate will face role elimination, along with four weeks of severance pay and an additional week for every year worked. Additionally, departing employees will receive six months of health insurance coverage.
This particular team has a notable history within Apple, transitioning from a contractor-based structure to full-time employees after addressing privacy concerns related to Siri query monitoring in 2019. While Apple has managed to avoid widespread layoffs amid the pandemic, this move indicates a strategic shift in its AI operations and workforce management.
