Apple postpones plans to replace 5,000 support staff with AI

Apple has indefinitely postponed plans to lay off approximately 5,000 AppleCare support employees. The company had reportedly considered replacing these roles with AI-powered phone and web agents that could handle customer inquiries and troubleshooting independently.

While the mass layoffs are on hold, Apple has already begun integrating generative AI into its support infrastructure. In the United States and Canada, customers calling the AppleCare hotline may now be routed to an AI-powered assistant capable of providing step-by-step troubleshooting instructions. The system is designed to transfer callers to a human advisor if the AI cannot resolve the issue or if the user explicitly requests a person.

Separately, Apple is undergoing organizational changes under the leadership of John Ternus. The company is reportedly looking to streamline its hierarchy by reducing middle management roles to accelerate product launch cycles and foster a more experimental culture to remain competitive in the artificial intelligence era.