Apple has reportedly shaken up its senior leadership team within the realms of retail, hardware and artificial intelligence, as the iPhone maker seeks to reduce reliance on smartphone sales.
Reported by the Wall Street Journal, the changes follow several personnel shifts since last year, with many projects placed on hold whilst leadership re-assess priorities.
The news follows less-than-expected sales of 2018 iPhones, coupled with a drop in Apple’s holiday outlook.
The Californian giant is reportedly amidst an internal restructure to ‘future-proof’ its business in the next decade, with a focus on services, artificial intelligence and complementary hardware, in lieu of smartphone sales.
Smartphones are said to currently account for approximately two thirds of Apple sales.
Leadership shuffles are said to include the promotion of artificial intelligence chief, John Giannandrea, into Apple’s executive team, coupled with the pushing out of Siri-voice assistant executive Bill Stasior.
Apple has reportedly also slashed around 200 jobs from its self-driving cars initiative, whilst redirecting many engineering roles into its services business.
The news comes as commentators await the launch of Apple’s streaming and subscription TV service, with the Californian giant heavily investing in original content from the likes of Oprah Winfrey and Reese Witherspoon.
