John Ternus shakes up Apple: fewer managers, more products and a new launch calendar

John Ternus has wasted little time making his mark. Since becoming Apple’s chief executive on 1 September, taking over from Tim Cook, the former head of hardware engineering has been preparing a series of far-reaching changes to the way the group designs and launches its products. The internal discussions were reported by Mark Gurman, the Bloomberg journalist known for his well-placed sources at Apple. True to form, the company has confirmed nothing.

The first change is about pace. For around a decade, Apple has concentrated its big announcements on two events: the autumn, with the iPhone, and sometimes the spring. John Ternus would like to break free of that calendar and release new products all year round. He believes the company must move faster and accept more risk to stay in the race as artificial intelligence takes hold. A busier rhythm would also create more opportunities to sell devices and bring new customers to the brand’s services.

Middle managers already shown the door

The second change concerns the organisation. The new boss has long argued for a leaner structure: when he ran hardware engineering, he was already telling meetings that Apple should hire less and give more work to the engineers it already has. The aim is to reduce the number of layers between the people who design products and senior management.

The first cuts came over the past two weeks. In the hardware engineering division, Apple eliminated engineering program manager roles, the people who coordinate development schedules and work between teams. Around six directors are reportedly affected. They have a few weeks to find another position internally; otherwise, they will leave the company by the end of the year.

Other teams have already been trimmed, notably those working on Siri, the Vision Pro headset and AI software, with some of the departures tied to individual performance reviews. The Fitness+ online workout service has lost staff, with a project for audio-only sessions shelved. More broadly, projects seen as unprofitable will now reportedly be slowed down or even dropped in their earliest stages.

« Everything now involves far more hands-on intervention than before (paraphrased). »

A person familiar with the matter, quoted by Bloomberg

AI to move faster, memory that costs more

John Ternus is also looking to artificial intelligence to shorten development cycles and automate some of the tasks handled by employees. Last summer, Apple considered cutting around 5,000 jobs at AppleCare, its customer service arm, by relying on AI agents over the phone and the web. The plan was dropped and is not expected to be revived for now.

Behind this drive for efficiency lie less flattering numbers. In the second quarter, services revenue, long Apple’s engine of growth, declined for the first time since 2022, while remaining above its level a year earlier. The App Store is slowing under new rules imposed in the United States and the European Union. And the memory shortage hitting the whole industry is making components more expensive: Apple has already raised some prices and wants to avoid steep increases that would drive buyers away.

For African markets, where the iPhone remains a premium product, that last question is the most tangible one: Apple’s ability to keep its costs in check will weigh directly on what devices cost in the shops.

A very busy 2027

The reorganisation comes alongside an ambitious roadmap. For next year, Apple is reportedly preparing AirPods fitted with cameras, its first smart glasses and a completely redesigned iPhone to mark the smartphone’s twentieth anniversary. All of these launches are putting teams under strain. One employee quoted by Bloomberg summed up the mood by saying that things are crazy right now. The savings even reach small details: some teams have learned they can no longer bring a guest to end-of-year parties.

Whether the machine will keep up remains to be seen. According to Bloomberg, some employees believe it will be hard to change working methods that are so deeply rooted and expect it to take several years. Apple has to gain speed without losing the coordination and attention to detail that built its reputation. That is the whole of John Ternus’s bet.