Apple (AAPL) shares edged lower Monday after CEO Tim Cook said the tech giant has slowed some of it hiring into the final months of the year, adding to pressure on tech sector jobs that reflect growing concern for the health of the global economy.
In an interview with CBS Mornings that is scheduled to air tomorrow, Cook told the broadcaster that while it will it will continue to hire, it will make targeted additions to its estimated global workforce of around 165,000.
Cook's indication for muted higher echoes that of ad giant Google (GOOGL), which said its fourth quarter headcount additions would be "significantly lower than Q3", and Microsoft (MSFT), which forecast only "minimal" headcount growth over the final three months of the year.
Meta Platforms (META), meanwhile, unveiled plans last week to slash more than 11,000 people from its global payroll, the biggest reduction in company history, as it grapples with mounting losses in its metaverse project and a pullback in ad spending that continues to hit sales at its flagship Facebook division.
"What we're doing as a consequence (to the economic uncertainty) in this period, is we're being very deliberate on our hiring ... that means we're continuing to hire, but not everywhere in the company," Cook said, according to a clip of the interview shared by CBS Mornings.
"We believe strongly in investing for the long term," Cook added "We don't believe you can save your way into prosperity. We believe you invest your way into it."
Apple shares were marked 1.2% lower in early Monday trading to change hands at $147.90 each.
Last week, Apple supplier Foxconn posted weaker-than-expected third quarter profits of T$38.8 billion ($1.22 billion), and said December quarter smartphone revenues would likely decline on year-on-year basis amid disruptions linked to its China-based manufacturing hubs.
Apple warned on November 6 that Foxconn's 200,000-person factory in Zhengzhou known as 'iPhone City' is "currently operating at significantly reduced capacity" owing to covid restrictions put in place last month by officials in Beijing and warned that it could curtail shipments of its higher-end iPhones heading into the holiday season.
Cook said last month that iPhone demand has remained healthy, but noted that supply constraints for both the 14 Pro and the 14 Pro Max continued to persist heading into the key holiday season, even prior to the added restrictions at Zhengzhou.
Still, Bloomberg reported earlier this week that Apple will produce 3 million few iPhone 14s than first anticipated, trimming its full-year target to 87 million, amid fading demand.
