Apple has reportedly sacked “dozens” of employees working on its secretive ‘Project Titan’ Apple Car project.
The New York Times reports that Apple is rethinking its plans for self-driving cars, shuttering parts of the project and even laying off employees. That’s according to three different sources that were briefed on the decision, but were not able to comment on the matter publicly.
Apple has reportedly been developed a self-driving Apple Car under the codename ‘Project Titan’ for months, although recent reports have suggested the moonshot has been marred by setbacks. In a bid to resolve this, Apple veteran Bob Mansfield took charge of the project back in July – to little effect, it seems.
According to the NYT, Mansfield has changed the focus of the project, moving from developing a car to “building out the underlying technology for an autonomous vehicle”. This move was also reported by Bloomberg. The new layoffs are said to be part of a “reboot” of Project Titan, which currently boasts an estimated workforce of around 1,000 employees.
It’s rumoured that Apple already has a number of fully autonomous vehicles in testing, but that the project is far from completion. Previous estimates put an Apple Car release date as far off as 2020.
Related: iPhone 8
Watch The Refresh: The best tech gossip and reviews every week
What would you like to see from an Apple Car? Let us know in the comments.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.