Apple has told over 120 employees in its San Diego AI quality control office that they must relocate to Austin by the end of February or face termination. Most of the affected employees work on Siri data annotation and quality control. This move signals a strategic shift for Apple’s AI efforts as it consolidates teams in Austin.
Background
Apple opened its San Diego office in 2021 specifically to tap into the region’s talent pool for AI and machine learning. The office focused on data annotation work for improving Siri’s speech recognition abilities.
Over the last 3 years, Apple built up a team of over 121 data labelers, linguists, project managers, and more in San Diego. However, most of Apple’s AI work remains centered in its Austin, Texas offices.
The Move and Layoffs
This week Apple began notifying the San Diego office that they intend to close the location and move its work fully to existing Apple facilities in Austin. Employees were told they could either relocate to Austin by February 28, 2024 or leave Apple and receive a small severance package.
Most employees are not expected to relocate and multiple reports estimate up to 90-100 of the 121 San Diego employees could soon be laid off. Apple has stated it will provide relocation assistance and bonuses to anyone moving to Austin.
Strategic Shift
While Apple maintains this consolidation is not a case of layoffs but rather a location shift, many industry watchers see it as a strategic change for Apple’s AI division. By moving more of its AI work under one roof in Austin, Apple can gain synergies between its various efforts in machine learning, speech recognition, natural language processing and more.
Bringing more technical roles like data scientists, linguists and project managers together with the hands-on annotation teams may also allow innovation important to improving Siri against rivals like Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.
Impacts
The closure of Apple’s San Diego office and relocation or layoffs of over 100 employees will have significant impacts within Apple and on the broader tech industry:
Employee Morale & Retention
- Many Apple employees are unwilling or unable to uproot families within one month to move to Austin
- Could signal eroding employee loyalty as Apple makes business-driven decisions without considering worker needs
- Key personnel with niche skillsets may leave Apple altogether
San Diego Tech Sector
- Elimination of over 100 high-paying tech jobs will dent the region’s burgeoning AI/ML industry
- Sign that big tech sees better opportunities in locations like Austin with existing concentration of talent
- Opportunity for local firms or new startups to scoop up newly available, seasoned AI talent
AI Industry Direction
- Marks a shift in how tech giants like Apple are prioritizing AI divisions and locations
- Potential boost for Austin’s tech scene as more AI roles move to the area
- Shows maturation of AI technology requiring consolidation of research and applied quality control
What’s Next
In the near-term, affected employees have about 6 weeks to decide whether to move to Austin or leave Apple. Given the short time frame, high cost of living changes and relocating entire families, the majority are expected to depart Apple.
This will leave holes in Apple’s data annotation teams that power much of Siri’s ongoing improvements. It remains to be seen whether and how quickly Apple can staff back up those positions in Austin.
Longer-term, consolidating more of its core AI units together in Austin points to Apple redoubling efforts to catch rivals in voice assistants while also prepping Siri for new applications like self-driving and VR/AR. How successfully Apple manages this transition and rebuilds its AI division over the next 1-2 years could be pivotal in its future product roadmaps.
Tables
Here are some key numbers about Apple’s San Diego office closure and impacts:
| Metric | Number |
|---|---|
| Employees in San Diego AI Office | 121 |
| Employees Expecting to Relocate | 10-30 |
| Employees Facing Layoffs | 90-100 |
| Weeks to Decide on Relocation | 6 |
And here is a breakdown of the different roles impacted by the move:
| Role | Employees |
|---|---|
| Data Labelers | 50-70 |
| Linguists | 15-20 |
| Project Managers | 5-10 |
| Other Technical Staff | 25-30 |
This outlines the key details and expected impacts of Apple shuttering its San Diego AI office after building up over 100 employees focused mainly on Siri data annotation. Consolidating in Austin signals a strategic shift for Apple’s AI work as it balances business decisions with employee retention. With up to 100 layoffs looming, Apple will need to rebuild critical teams quickly to avoid slowing Siri progress against rivals.
To err is human, but AI does it too. Whilst factual data is used in the production of these articles, the content is written entirely by AI. Double check any facts you intend to rely on with another source.
