Apple Inc. has announced that it will be shutting down a unit of its own based in San Diego.
Why is Apple closing this unit down? Let’s find out!
Apple To Close Down Operations in San Diego
The Cupertino-based company has announced that its Data Operations Annotations unit, based in San Diego will be shut down. The Data Operations Annotations unit is comprised of 121 employees, who will all be affected by this shutdown.
However, Apple has offered them some relief – they can relocate to Austin Texas, and merge with the team that is already working there. This was communicated to the employees on Wednesday.
As per a spokesperson of the multinational technology company, “Data Operations Annotations team in the US are being brought together at our campus in Austin, where a majority of the team is already based. Everyone currently employed will have the opportunity to continue their role with Apple at Austin.”
Employees Offered $7000 To Relocate
As per reports, the employees have till the end of February to decide if they want to relocate or not. However, most employees are not in favor of relocating to Texas.
The Data Operations Annotations unit focuses on artificial intelligence (AI)-related operations.
While Apple’s spokesperson confirmed the relocation decision, she mentioned that the company is committed to San Diego, where it has seen significant growth.
Apple has offered the employees a stipend of $7,000 if they choose to relocate. Additionally, the transfer is expected to be completed by the end of June.
The employees who choose to decline the offer will be terminated by the company by April 26. They will receive four weeks of severance pay, with an additional week for every year worked, and health insurance for six months.
What Does The Data Operations Annotations Unit Do?
The Data Operations Annotations unit is in charge of working on Apple’s voice assistant, Siri, and improving it. They do this by analyzing the accuracy of the assistant’s responses to user queries.
The unit works on improving Siri’s performance in Hebrew, English, Spanish (multiple dialects), Portuguese, Arabic, and French languages.
In addition to San Diego, the Data Operations Annotations unit has offices in China, India, Ireland, and Spain.
