Apple cuts about 100 digital services jobs, Bloomberg News reports

(Reuters) -Apple Inc has eliminated about 100 jobs in its digital services group, with the biggest cuts affecting the team responsible for its Apple Books app and Apple Bookstore, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday.

The layoffs include some engineering roles and other services teams like the one that runs Apple News, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.

Apple declined to comment on the Bloomberg News report.

It was not immediately clear how many employees Apple had in its services division. The company had approximately 161,000 full-time equivalent employees as of Sept.30, 2023, according to its latest annual report.

Apple has been reorganizing teams amid shifting priorities, including to artificial intelligence.

It has previously suspended work on its next high-end Vision headset and shuttered a project to design and develop its own smartwatch displays earlier this year, according to media reports.

Apple has been facing headwinds in China, its third-largest market, since last year, where sales declined 6.5% last quarter.

(Reporting by Kanjyik Ghosh; Editing by Savio D'Souza and Nivedita Bhattacharjee)