Apple reportedly lays off Fitness+ audio staff as major changes loom
Apple has reportedly laid off a handful of Fitness+ employees working on audio features, including Time to Walk and Time to Run, according to a Bloomberg report cited by 9to5Mac. The cuts are seen internally as the start of more drastic cost-cutting and major changes to the service.
In the latest edition of his Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman wrote that the layoffs hit the Fitness+ audio team. New releases will not disappear completely, he said, but they will drop in frequency. Gurman added that he does not believe, as of now, that Apple Fitness+ is on the chopping block. Even so, he wrote that the service's considerable costs, the ever-present demand for new content and subscriber churn rates make it an easy place for Apple to look for cuts. That process is starting now, he said.
The reductions are widely seen within the Fitness+ organization as the beginning of more drastic cost-cutting measures and other major changes to the service in the months and years ahead, according to Gurman. He reported last November that the future of Apple Fitness+ was under review. Leadership of the service shifted to services boss Eddy Cue and health boss Sumbul Desai. Cue has reportedly pressed Apple to move faster and be more competitive in health and fitness.
Gurman speculated that Apple will eventually integrate Fitness+ into a revamped Health app. The 9to5Mac article said that prediction was likely correct. Apple has not announced a decision to shut down Fitness+ or to fold it into another app.