Apple: Recent Staffing Cutbacks Were 'A Mistake'

Apple has announced that it will be reversing some staffing cutbacks the company recently made at some of its stores, Bloomberg Businessweek reports. We first caught wind of these cutbacks a couple of days ago, as it was reported that Apple had laid off a number of workers at some of its retail stores in the UK. Apparently, the decision to let some workers go and cut the hours of others was "a mistake" and Apple will now work to remedy the situation.

It's a rather strange story to be honest with you, with the cuts in question being implemented by John Browett, who recently became Apple's head of retail. That's according to an anonymous Apple employee, who also said that Browett had been limiting transfers between stores. Kristin Huguet, a spokesperson for Apple, told Buisinessweek that the company will be returning to its old policy after realizing that these cuts were a mistake. "We recently implemented some changes in retail staffing," she said. "Making these changes was a mistake and the changes are being reversed."

Indeed, the cutbacks didn't seem to make much sense, with Apple Stores actually pulling in 17% more money for the company last quarter than they did the year before. Another thing that makes the timing of these cutbacks strange is that Apple is expected to release the next iPhone next month. Not only that, but there are rumors going around that claim an iPad Mini may also be slated for a reveal. If that's the case, then it doesn't make much sense that Apple would be cutting back on employees, when in just a few weeks those retail stores are likely to be bombarded with customers looking to get their hands on the newest Apple devices.

Whatever the reason behind those odd cutbacks, they've been reversed now, or at least will be in the not-too-distant future. Apparently the confusion was caused by a change in Apple's "staffing formula" but with Apple now returning to its formula from the past, the cause of the cutbacks doesn't much matter now. Be sure to have a look at our story timeline below for more on Apple's recent exploits.