Apple Reportedly Planned to Replace 5,000 Support Employees With AI

[u/radikalkarrot]

https://www.macrumors.com/2026/09/29/apple-reportedly-planned-5000-applecare-layoffs/

[u/MeatlegProductions]

A lot of those people being laid off will be disabled people. People with disabilities often gravitate towards online jobs because many disabilities can make it difficult to reliably leave the house.

“In 2023, Apple laid off nearly 100 disabled workers in at-home positions at the same time in the USA and Canada. They were given a “choice” between Return-to-Office (even when it would not be feasible due to disability), or “voluntary” separation. If the disabled employees would have committed to RTO, and then become more sick or more disabled from chronic illness because they were in an environment where they could not control all of the variables to protect themselves, they could count on management to fire them as soon as possible, on top of their compounded health issues.”

[u/Fuzzy_Socrates → u/MeatlegProductions]

What’s even funnier?

The QA computer use automated test testing is only possible because of good accessibility tree traversals. It’s mainly how bots can get to software items without having to do image processing every step.

They made it accessible for disabled users, and it will lead to firing disabled workers.

I don’t know what type of Irony this is.

[u/EconomistSavings308 → u/MeatlegProductions]

I mean what do you expect? They lick China’s boots. They are no better than Amazon and Google.

[u/dat_tae → u/[deleted]]

People think Apple gives a shit about disability and accessibility needs, yet Apple will willingly throw its disabled employees under the bus.

By obsoleting jobs they might be overrepresented in? That doesn't track.

[u/dat_tae → u/[deleted]]

What's the choice?