Done Deal: Apple Buys Beats For $3B, Fires 200 People
According to a report from the 9To5Mac blog, Apple will be eliminating approximately 200 jobs at Beats – but that’s apparently just a small portion of the 700 jobs being cut in total.
An official with the company tells the blog that because of an “overlap in operations, some offers are for a limited period and we’ll work hard during this time to find as many of these Beats employees as we can another permanent job within Apple.”
Although Apple didn’t confirm the exact number of positions on the chopping block, an insider tells 9To5 that several Beats employees in support, finance and human resources have already been dismissed, offered new jobs at Apple HQ in Cupertino, CA, or given temporary positions until January 2015.
As far as Beats’ executives’ job-status goes, co-founders Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre have already committed to transitioning to Apple, while others haven’t made definitive decisions, although reports point to many staying on board.
Apple first announced it would purchase Beats in May, marking the largest acquisition for the company to date. The deal not only includes Beats’ iconic headphones – which are currently party to an infringement lawsuit by Bose – but also the company’s streaming music service.
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