Apple shutting down a team in San Diego, offers them relocation to Austin

Apple is shutting down a 121-person team related to artificial intelligence operations in San Diego, leaving many employees at risk of termination, reports Bloomberg, quoting unnamed “people familiar with the matter.”

The group, known as Data Operations Annotations, was told Wednesday that they would be relocating to Austin to merge with the Texas portion of the same team, the article adds. Workers have until the end of February to decide, with terminations occurring in late April.

An Apple spokesperson confirmed to Bloomberg that the relocation was to happen, with the Austin office being “where a majority of the team is already based.” Additionally, “everyone currently employed will have the opportunity to continue their role with Apple in Austin.”

This could be part of the tech giant’s expansion in the Texas City. On January 10, 2023, My San Antonio reported that Apple had filed projects totaling IS$240 million for an expansion of its north Austin, Texas campus, Capstone Phase Two AC09 and Capstone Phase Two AC07, as the projects are called, are a four-story and a five-story building, respectively, set for construction at 6900 Parmer Lane. Between the two buildings, Apple is adding 419,441 square-feet of office space. Construction begins for both buildings on September 30 of this year and have an estimated completion date of March 30, 2025.

All told, Apple plans to build three million square feet of offices on Parmer Lane, with room for up to 15,000 employees. The tech giant has been a major player in Austin for a decade. Since 2013, the firm has manufactured its Mac Pro device in the city, and with 7,000 workers in the area, Apple ranks as Austin’s seventh-largest employer, according to the Austin Business Journal.