Apple is closing its 121-person artificial intelligence team related to its Siri voice assistant in San Diego, California, with a potential risk of termination for many employees, according to sources familiar, reports Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.
The Data Operations Annotations team, focused on refining Siri’s voice recognition capabilities, was informed of the impending relocation and merger with their Austin-based counterparts. Anonymous sources stated that employees have been given until the end of February to decide on the relocation offer.
According to the sources, Apple has set a termination date of April 26 for those who choose not to move to Austin. The affected team, which also has a presence in offices across China, India, Ireland, and Spain, plays a crucial role in evaluating Siri’s response accuracy to user queries. Christine DeFilippo, a leading deputy under Apple AI chief John Giannandrea, announced the San Diego group’s closure.
An Apple spokeswoman confirmed to Bloomberg the consolidation plans, emphasizing the company’s commitment to uniting its US Data Operations Annotations teams in Austin, where most team members are already located. She reiterated that all current employees are offered the chance to continue working with Apple in the Austin campus.
Despite the San Diego team’s shutdown, Apple maintains its dedication to the region, highlighting its substantial growth and ongoing recruitment to expand its engineering teams. In contrast, in other countries, Apple retains its teams in single offices.
The sudden notice of relocation was unexpected for the San Diego staff, particularly after preparations had begun for an anticipated move to a new local Apple campus. A majority of the affected workers have expressed reluctance to relocate, with concerns about eligibility for other roles within Apple due to their non-engineering skill sets.
The San Diego employees have been integral in adapting Siri for various languages, including Hebrew, English, Spanish dialects, Portuguese, Arabic, and French. This decision by Apple could lead to significant staff departures, an unusual trend for the company, which has largely steered clear of layoffs during uncertain times in the tech industry.
Apple is offering a $7,000 USD relocation stipend to those moving to Austin by the end of June and severance packages to those who depart, including extended health insurance benefits. The transition includes a shift for some employees towards AI projects involving large language models, with a strategic announcement from Apple anticipated in June.
Siri in its current state needs to be destroyed and overhauled from the ground up. Apple needs to improve Siri because the assistant is only good for setting timers, if and when it can actually understand what you’re saying.
