Many of the big techs have announced the elimination of thousands of positions as they grapple with shrinking toplines. The latest tech titan to join the league was Alphabet, Inc. GOOG GOOG, with CEO Sundar Pichai shooting off an email to employees to notify them of the planned job cuts.

About 166 tech companies laid off 55,863 employees thus far in 2023, according to layoffs.fyi, a company tracking job cuts in the sector.

Apple Preserves Payrolls: Apple, Inc. AAPL was conspicuously absent from the list of companies cutting the fat. Has Apple weathered the economic softness better than its peers, or has it chosen to live with a dent in its profitability through the downturn?

Cupertino, just like any consumer-facing company, faces the risk of slowing demand amid an uncertain economic environment. Confidence is at depressed levels as a higher interest rate environment combined with elevated inflation leaves consumers with very little to spend, especially on discretionary items.

On the other hand, supply chain challenges also posed difficulties. Production at the main iPhone assembly plant of its supplier Hon Hai Precision Manufacturing Company Limited HNHPF was impacted in the December quarter due to the COVID-19 restrictions in China. The company warned of a shipment shortfall, citing the supply-side challenge.

Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives said in a recent note that he estimates about 8 million to 9 million units of iPhones were pushed out of the December quarter.

See also: Everything You Need To Know About Apple Stock

How Apple Steered Clear Of Job Cuts: Cupertino apparently operated with the mantra of a “lean” organization, thanks to its policy of outsourcing component manufacturing and assembly. Apple had 164,000 full-time equivalent employees as of Sept. 24, 2022, according to the latest 10-K filing. This is up about 6.5% from the previous year.

Alphabet employed 186,779 by the same timeframe, up 24.5% from 150,028 in the year-ago period. Meta Platforms, Inc. META had about 87,314 employees despite generating revenue only about one-third that of Apple. On a year-over-year basis, Meta boosted manpower by 28%.

Apple, which is the most valuable company in the world, has been relatively immune to macroeconomic and geopolitical setbacks. Data released by Canalys showed that iPhone’s share of the overall smartphone market climbed to a record high in the December quarter. The company thrives on its huge installed devices base, which fuels growth in its ecosystem.

Apple reported record revenue of $394.33 billion for the fiscal year that ended September 2022. Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities (both current and non-current) totaled $169.11 billion. The numbers testify to the company’s financial might and ability to survive even amid turbulence.

Alphabet and Meta faced a far greater woe than the general consumer softness. The business models of these companies are heavily weighted toward ad revenue. As uncertainties abounded, cautious advertisers scaled back on ad spending, which in turn impacted their main revenue stream.

As a Wall Street Journal report pointed out, the companies which wielded the ax heavily were splurging on projects with long gestation periods and potential of only distant revenue. Meta for one was investing heavily in its Reality Labs virtual reality unit that is working on the metaverse.

Even if Apple chooses to reduce headcount, it could passively do so by not opting to replace employees who leave, DA Davidson analyst Tim Forte said, according to the Journal. The company may also cut back on other perks and amenities to save dollars and unlike other tech firms, Cupertino doesn’t offer free lunch for employees at its corporate campus, he added.

More clarity on Apple’s strategic direction in the eventuality of economic fundamentals worsening will emerge when it reports its financial results on Feb. 2. The company is widely expected to report earnings per share of $1.95, down from $2.10 a year ago and revenue of $122.05 billion, down a modest 1.50% year-over-year.

Apple shares ended Friday’s session 1.92% higher at $137.87, according to Benzinga Pro data. Since hitting a high of $182.94 in January 2022, the stock has lost about 25% to date.

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