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Apple reportedly laying off up to 200 of Beats' 700 employees

Apple reportedly laying off up to 200 of Beats' 700 employees

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Apple's purchase of Beats will likely make Dr. Dre a billionaire, but it could also potentially send many other people to the unemployment line. Recode says Apple recently informed as many as 200 Beats workers that they'll have temporarily positions at the company once the acquisition closes, but those jobs are likely to disappear within months. Beats currently staffs roughly 700 people, and it sounds like Apple doesn't have room for all of them. "We’re excited to have the Beats team join Apple, and we have extended job offers to every Beats employee," an Apple spokesperson told The Verge when asked about the news.

"Because of some overlap in our operations, some offers are for a limited period and we’ll work hard during this time to find as many of these Beats employees as we can another permanent job within Apple." So Apple isn't immediately throwing anyone onto the street, and the company is seemingly doing its best to avoid layoffs wherever possible; hopefully the final tally won't be anywhere near 200.

But inevitably some Beats employees will need to update their résumés over the next few weeks. Yesterday, 9to5Mac reported that Apple has already set up a hotline to its human resources division to help ease the transition for those affected. The site noted that some temporary positions will be eliminated by the end of January. Apple reportedly plans to keep Beats' Santa Monica headquarters around once the buyout is finalized, and some Beats Music employees will remain stationed there. Beats Music CEO Ian Rogers is now expected to join Apple's ranks along with Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine, according to the report.