Apple CEO Ternus plans faster product launches and leaner structure

September 29, 2026 at 08:39 PM2 min

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Apple CEO John Ternus is restructuring the company to accelerate product development and release new devices more frequently throughout the year, Bloomberg reports. The plan includes eliminating some middle-management positions and cutting costs to create a leaner organization focused on engineering. Ternus is also seeking new ways to boost services revenue with Eddy Cue and CFO Kevan Parekh.

Key Facts

Apple has dismissed a number of engineering program managers in its hardware engineering division over the last two weeks, including roughly half a dozen directors.
Ternus, 51, has advocated for a leaner organization for years, telling employees Apple should hire fewer people and reduce organizational bloat.
Apple scrapped a plan over the summer to lay off 5,000 AppleCare employees, believing AI-powered agents could handle those responsibilities.
Early planning meetings for 2027 have seen reductions in planned budget increases, flat staffing levels, and reduced marketing spending.

Product Launch Overhaul

Ternus is considering a shake-up to Apple's traditional spring and fall product release cycles, aiming to introduce new devices more quickly and throughout the year. He has indicated that Apple must become more experimental to remain competitive in the artificial intelligence era. Employees familiar with the matter say changing such an ingrained development practice will be hard and could take years. Apple is rumored to have a considerable number of products in the pipeline, including a new HomePod Mini, iPad Mini, Apple TV 4K, AirPods with cameras, touchscreen MacBooks, and a special 20th anniversary iPhone.

Organizational Restructuring

The hardware engineering team dismissed a number of engineering program managers, roles central to Apple's product-development process for decades. The cuts affected several program managers, including roughly half a dozen directors, one of the company's most senior employee levels. Those employees were given just weeks to find other positions within Apple, and those who don't secure new roles will be laid off later this year. Ternus wants to eliminate some middle-management positions to reduce the layers separating engineers from senior executives.

Cost Cutting and Revenue

Ternus has advocated for Apple to hire fewer people, ask more of its existing engineers, and reduce organizational bloat. During a presentation, he showed a slide charting annual headcount growth and argued the company should accomplish more with fewer employees. Apple scrapped a plan over the summer to lay off 5,000 AppleCare employees, believing AI-powered agents could handle those responsibilities. Ternus is working with Eddy Cue and CFO Kevan Parekh to increase revenue from Apple's services division, discussing launching new services and extracting more revenue from existing products.