Apple cancels EV project, moves some staff to AI team
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The news: Apple has cancelled work on its electric car and will move some employees working on the project to the company's artificial intelligence division, Bloomberg reported.
The numbers: Apple's chief operating officer Jeff Williams and VP Kevin Lynch made the disclosure internally, to the surprise of the nearly 2,000 employees working on the electric car project, unnamed sources told Bloomberg.
The news saw Apple shares climb as the stock ended 1% higher to USD182.63 ($278.91) by market close in New York.
The context: The winding down of the multibillion-dollar effort, called Project Titan, is expected to see some employees laid off, while others will be moved to the company's AI division to focus on generative AI projects.
Apple's decadelong effort to build an electric car was one the most ambitious projects in the company's history. Having started work on the car around 2014, the company had plans to roll out a fully autonomous electric vehicle with a limousine-like interior and voice-guided navigation.
However, a recent slowdown in demand for electric vehicles has prompted the industry to cut jobs and reduce production, with the EV market leader Tesla pulling back on investments.
The source: Bloomberg
