Microsoft recently announced something quite interesting – a voluntary hiring of an employee. In short, if you are 70 or older and have been with the company, you can voluntarily leave the company, take early retirement, and (probably) receive a large payout.
It’s a less hostile form of layoffs, and while I don’t think Apple would do it for the same reasons as Microsoft, I think it could serve a unique purpose in turning the company around.
Why Apple should do this
Most likely, the acquisition of Microsoft is a means of reducing the number of employees without looking too bad. During Covid, essentially every tech company rushed to hire large numbers of people due to the growth of the tech sector. Then that growth slowed and we’ve now been in this layoff environment for the last 3-4 years.
Apple has mostly avoided over-hiring, and for the most part they have prevented mass layoffs. Now, the flip side of that equation is that Apple is hiring very slowly – because they don’t want to hire anymore. This means that Apple has been slow to bring in new talent in recent years, while there is a lot of top talent that isn’t always keen.
Those workers aren’t leaving because they’re not of retirement age — and they still rely on Apple stock compensation grants, so they stay with the company with minimal work. This is known as resting and rinsing.
“Rest and vest” problem
The top tech workers are highly paid, but they also receive stock grants that vest over a period of time, usually 4 years. You’ll also receive additional grants over time based on performance, making it a continuous cycle of staying with the company to receive your full compensation.
It’s a great system for aligning employees with company growth and also making sure you retain your talent. The thing about this is that when you’re big enough, you often reach a point where you can coast and walk away. You could argue that people don’t have to work as hard after they’ve been with a company for 5-10+ years, but when you’re not hiring that much new talent, it creates a problem where things don’t necessarily get done. This is incredibly evident in Apple’s software quality.
You could also argue that Apple should open its wallet more and hire more people without thinking about its current top talent. It’s certainly a very valid argument, but given the CEO change, I think it would be smart to give great talent the option to retire early if they want to, regardless. Apple has always been conservative when it comes to big spending, so I wouldn’t expect a big hiring frenzy to happen all of a sudden.
How could it work
Microsoft requires that your combined age and tenure be greater than or equal to 70 to purchase. Apple can copy it directly, or they can be even more aggressive: 60. If you’ve worked at Apple for 15 years, you’re 45, and you want an easy way out – you can.
There must be a phased approach to avoid losing tons of talent at once. With a new era of leadership though – I think bringing fresh blood into the company and allowing those who don’t really want to be there to retire early would be a great foundation for Apple’s future.
My favorite Apple accessory recommendations:
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