Apple forces 121-person AI team to move office due to reorganization, fired if refused

It has been revealed that all members of the AI team mainly involved in the development of Apple's voice assistant 'Siri' are being forced to relocate their offices. Members have been asked to move to an office in Austin, Texas, approximately 2,000 km away from their current location in San Diego, California, and have been told that if they do not comply, they will be fired.

Apple to Shutter 121-Person San Diego AI Team in Reorganization - Bloomberg

This time, the target of Apple's reorganization is the AI specialized department known as Data Operations Annotations. We have learned that the San Diego branch of the division will be merging with the Austin branch, and the San Diego office will be closed.

Apple is forcing all members of Data Operations Annotations to move their offices or be fired, and those who choose to relocate will receive a $7,000 subsidy, and those who choose to be fired will receive at least four weeks. The company plans to provide retirement benefits for 6 months and health insurance for 6 months. The deadline for responses is the end of February 2024, and members are being forced to make decisions that will drastically change their living environments.

According to an Apple spokesperson, Austin is ``where the majority of the team is already based,'' indicating that there will be little change in the living environment due to relocation. However, a person familiar with the matter said that the members had been told about the move for some time, but had been informed that they would be moving to a new office nearby, so they decided not to move to Texas. The relocation was unexpected.

Officials say the majority of Apple's members do not want to relocate, and dozens of employees could leave Apple.