's senior vice president of hardware technologies , Johny Srouji, may be the next major executive to leave the company, amid a worrying exodus of top employees, according to Mark Gurman .
Srouji reportedly recently told CEO Tim Cook that he was “seriously considering leaving” in the near future. He plans to join another company if that happens. Srouji leads Apple’s chip design and spearheaded the transition to Apple silicon.
See also: Apple announces departures of other executives
Before Johny Srouji, others also left
Earlier this week, it was reported that Meta had hired several key Apple employees, including designer Alan Dye, while it is conducting its own hiring campaign to develop AI and smart glasses. Meanwhile, Apple announced the departure of Senior Vice President and General Counsel Kate Adams,Vice President of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives Lisa Jackson, and AI chief John Giannandrea.
Earlier this year, Apple lost both Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams and Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri. There have also been rumors about Apple CEO Tim Cook's. According to them, the CEO is preparing to leave his position next year.
Apple's continued executive departures
Gurman says the losses are partly due to many of the key executives approaching retirement, but there is still a “worrying brain drain” taking place at the company. Gurman says the cumulative weight of the departures adds up to “one of the most tumultuous periods of Cook’s tenure.” Some of the losses are considered “a cause for deep concern,” and Cook is now trying to prevent further losses of top talent with stronger compensation packages.
See also: Apple's Alan Dye joins Meta and will lead the new Creative Studio
Gurman notes that “Apple hasn’t launched a successful new product category in a decade,” leaving it increasingly vulnerable to talent being snapped up by more agile competitors who are said to be better equipped to develop the next generation of devices and AI technologies.
Cook himself is seen as likely to step down in the near future. He turned 65 last month. However, it is likely that he will transition to the role of chairman rather than leaving the company entirely.
Johny Srouji's possible departure is considered a "more immediate risk," and Cook is reportedly working hard to keep him, offering a significant compensation package and the potential for more responsibility. Some executives have suggested promoting Srouji to the role of chief technology officer. That would allow him to oversee a wide range of hardware engineering and silicon technologies, making him Apple's second-most powerful executive.
Gurman says that this change would likely require John Ternus to CEO, but Srouji reportedly prefers not to work under a different CEO, even in an expanded role. If he leaves, Srouji would likely be replaced by Zongjian Chen or Sribalan Santhanam. Beyond Srouji and the other reported departures, Apple is believed to be facing a significant loss of talent among its core engineers.
Wider “collapse” – Departures from many departments
Gurman explains that there was “a broader collapse within Apple’s AI organization” caused by the departure of AI modeling lead Ruoming Pang earlier this year, along with colleagues like Tom Gunter and Frank Chu. Apple lost SiriRobby Walker, as well as his replacement, Ke Yang.
See also: Apple: Head of AI, John Giannandrea, is leaving
Apple's AI team is reportedly suffering from low morale, and there is concern about the increasing use of external AI technology, such as Google Gemini. About a dozen of Apple's top AI researchers have also left.
The company's AI robotics software team has seen widespread departures, including its leader Jian Zhang , who joined Meta. The user interface team has also lost members, such as Billy Sorrentino , culminating in Dye's departure.
The hardware design team has “almost disappeared,” with many employees leaving for other companies or following former design chief Jony Ive to his studio, LoveFrom . Abidur Chowdhury , the designer behind the iPhone Air that was unveiled in September, has left for an AI startup.
The company has also lost a key manager responsible for display technologies, Cheng Chen (who went to OpenAI). One of the leaders in hardware engineering, Tang Tan, also left for OpenAI.
Apple has even lost the dean of Apple University, Richard Locke. Apple University is the internal program intended to preserve the company's practices and culture after the death of Steve Jobs.
The exodus has become a major concern for Apple's leadership, which has instructed human resources to step up recruitment and retention efforts.
