Apple hit the brakes on Project Titan earlier this year after a series of setbacks, but there are reports that other projects have been shut down by the tech giant.
Apple is laying off more than 600 staff from its operations after pulling the plug on various projects, including its electric car endeavour – Project Titan.
It was reported earlier this year that Apple decided to hit the brakes on its decade-long effort to break into the EV market, following a series of launch delays, project scale-backs and a loss of key project members.
But the decision to end the project has had a knock-on effect, as Bloomberg reports that Apple has laid off hundreds of staff as a result of this project – and others – being abandoned. The company sent multiple filings to the California Employment Development Department, to comply with the state’s regulations around layoffs.
Bloomberg claims some of the layoffs also relate to Apple’s decision to end a smartwatch display project. The filings were also seen by 9to5Mac, which claims more than 700 employees are being cut as a result of the car project, micro-LED displays and a Siri data operations office that was reportedly closed earlier this year.
A report from MacRumors last month claimed Apple was working on a version of the Apple Watch Ultra with a micro-LED display, but that these plans were indefinitely delayed.
The fallen titan
Project Titan began as a highly ambitious project by Apple, with the company initially envisioning a car with no steering wheel or pedals and having a limousine-like interior. But the project suffered a key setback when Doug Field, who headed the company’s car efforts for three years, left Apple in September 2021.
He was replaced by Kevin Lynch, who was responsible for developing the company’s smartwatch project and is currently vice-president of technology.
When Field departed from the company, journalist and Apple expert Mark Gurman claimed that losing Field was “probably the largest setback” for the ambitious project.
This view was proven correct by December 2022, when sources told Bloomberg that the car project was being scaled back significantly. Steering wheels and pedals were back on the list and autonomous features would only be available on highways.
Meanwhile, reports from earlier this year suggest many of Project Titan’s former staff will be used to boost Apple’s endeavours into the AI sector.
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