Apple Executive Addresses Recent Employee Concerns in Internal Video

[jonnysods]

I thought they would just use a grid for each position, time served etc, and kind of make it the same for everyone. Then if there are bonuses or incentives because someone hustles or works overtime to get something over the line etc, you can still earn your way.

It seems like a fairly easy thing to resolve. It's also funny to hear about these complaints, when Timmy got $750 million in stock 2 weeks ago. I'm not saying he needs to give that up, he worked for that as arranged with corporate, but yikes this doesn't seem hard to solve.

 

[I7guy]

[...]. So I get it, they wanted to give their kids everything. So they did, they made them brats, those kids then grew up to invent the modern financial system we have today (which clearly has become a mess, except for them).

Fun Times!

Hey I gave my kids their good values and what I could. But they got the rest the old fashioned way, they married rich.

The entire equal work, equal pay concept is such a tough concept to implement in reality especially with top tier companies who have tens of thousands of employees.

 

[Ethosik]

It’s pretty common that places forbid you to speak about salary. But three places I worked at were found to be paying women less. It’s quite frustrating to be honest. This is why I am all for open safe places to discuss anything. Why I found it ridiculous that people complained that they were using Slack to discuss any concerns they have.

 

[TheRealTVGuy]

Wow, what a tone-deaf and hollow response. Most employees are well aware that HR departments and their policies are meant to mitigate a company’s legal exposure, and as such, are just the personnel wing of the legal team. I don’t understand why they would even make such an internal statement, it does little else but inflame the situation and give the employees a near perfect prompt for rebuttal. Who is making decisions at Apple lately?

With each passing day, the cracks in Apple’s facade grow larger.

So what are they supposed to do? What, specifically would you like to see/hear from Apple?

 

[I7guy]

It’s pretty common that places forbid you to speak about salary. But three places I worked at were found to be paying women less. It’s quite frustrating to be honest. This is why I am all for open safe places to discuss anything. Why I found it ridiculous that people complained that they were using Slack to discuss any concerns they have.

There is nothing good that can come about by having colleagues discuss their compensation. I agree discuss anything, except compensation.

 

[0924487]

I wouldn’t bite the Woke Apple.

The logic is so incoherent and inconsistent. Still claiming things that have been long debunked and dismissed. It’s always easier to blame everyone but themselves.

 

[BGPL]

Apple, like any other company, will pay as little as possible to acquire an employee. It usually has more to do with their work experience and previous salary history, but if they can pay less for any reason, they will find it and use it.

 

[CthuluLemon]

So what are they supposed to do? What, specifically would you like to see/hear from Apple?

Simple, acknowledging that the problem exists -at least from employees perspective- to a level where the typical avenue, going to your manager, has already been considered exhausted, and showing a conciliatory tone throughout rather than including a self-congratulatory "best in class" statement.

Regardless of how in the right Apple thinks it is, dismissing concerns from customers or employees only adds fuel to the fire and will bite Apple in the near future. I wouldn't be surprised if the leaked NCMEC "voices of the screeching minority" statement was the ultimate catalyst in Apple's about face regarding CSAM. It's leaking instantly took the debate to another level and made Apple appear arrogant-by-association. Even those that were ambivalent picked up on how tactless it was. How and why Apple did not properly vet that statement before allowing it to be dispersed to a mass of employees is beyond me, but thats indicative of a wider issue with leadership. It was an Apple partner that made the statement, and yet Apple is already the one more associated with it.

Dismissing concerns as without merit has never worked well for Apple, from Steve Job's "You're holding it wrong" email to now, and yet Apple keeps trying the same thing expecting a different outcome. It's pathetic that the world's most profitable and most valuable company can't learn such a basic lesson about employee, customer and public relations.

 

[jarman92]

I still don’t get if companies can pay women or minorities less, why not just hire them exclusively. Especially when you have a bean counter like Cook.

I’m not saying it doesn’t happen, but perhaps improve at negotiating your pay at start of employment or move on to better opportunities in Silicon Valley. If you’re “stuck “ at Apple then improve your skill set if you are unhappy instead.

It's illegal to pay women or minorities less for the same job. Any disparity comes from differences like work experience, education, hire date, negotiation prowess, and/or the actual position.

 

[Internaut]

Having worked near the top in large companies, both high tech and not, HR (or whatever new name is used) exists to protect management, nothing else. Call it internal marketing if you want a real description.

Anyone that believes otherwise has not been paying attention long enough. Just ask yourself, outside of outrageous management behavior identified by the media or outsiders, has any people chief sided with the people.

It just does not happen.

At a former employer, we used to refer to HR as The Olive Oil people or the Ulster Mafia. Hearing a Northern Irish accent around the office was never anything to celebrate.

 

[I7guy]

Simple, acknowledging that the problem exists to a level where the typical avenue, going to your manager, has been considered exhausted by employees, and showing a conciliatory tone rather than a self-congratulatory "best in class" statement. Regardless of how in the right Apple thinks it is, dismissing concerns from customers or employees only adds fuel to the fire and will bite Apple in the near future.

Can guarantee there won't be "fuel to the fire in the future". The vocal disgruntled are making whatever is going on seem worse than it is. There always is a contingent of disgruntled employees in every organization.

I wouldn't be surprised if the leaked NCMEC "voices of the screeching minority" statement was the ultimate catalyst in Apple's about face regarding CSAM. It was an Apple partner that made the statement, and yet Apple is already the one more associated with it. Dismissing others concerns as without merit has never worked for Apple, from Steve Job's "You're holding it wrong" to now, and yet Apple keeps trying the same thing expecting a different outcome. It's pathetic that the worlds most profitable and most valuable company can't learn such a basic lesson about employee and public relations.

What basic lesson is to be learned? That the company doesn't want to treat disgruntled employees that have gone public in a different manner than employees who work within the system? As a counter, I know several people who work for Apple and they love Apple as an employer.

 

[djlythium]

If the company is doing great, like a trillion dollar company with huge profits year after year, why not share the wealth with employees on a transparent basis?, for example: a special bonus due to covid situation, stress and hard efforts with a higher amount paid to those working longer at Apple?. Share the wealth created by your employees!!!.

Revolutionary idea. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 I’d like to echo this, and remind everyone of when 180 CEOs, including Cook, committed to taking care of workers. What happened to that? Oh, yeah…

 

[dwaltwhit]

I wonder why your pay is a public record. Hmmmm. Boy let’s see. I seem to remember something about why that would be....

Are your pensions and benefits public? I assume they are because....

I know why they are. I am just suggesting that the issues many industries have with pay disparity may be solved if pay wasn't a big secret only to be whispered about.

 

[I7guy]

I know why they are. I am just suggesting that the issues many industries have with pay disparity may be solved if pay wasn't a big secret only to be whispered about.

If one really wants compensation to be a matter of public, then the employee review process and compensation history should be a public record also. This way there are no secrets.

 

[dwaltwhit]

If one really wants compensation to be a matter of public, then the employee review process and compensation history should be a public record also. This way there are no secrets.

Agreed!

 

[blacktape242]

you get hundreds of millions of dollars and you get hundreds of millions of dollars and you get hundreds of millions of dollars ...sounds equal..

-Oprah

 

[Ethosik]

The idea that a CEO can be paid hundreds of times more than the person selling you an iPad in a retail store, not to mention the people actually making the products, is not
natural, or accidental, it’s exploitation pure and simple. The fact that conditions in the factories that produce iPads and iPhones are so miserable that Foxconn had to put up nets to catch suicidal jumpers should give anyone defending this kind of income disparity a reason for pause. Apple is a trillion dollar company, at times the most valuable corporation in earth, when it’s not knocked out of place by Exxon-Mobil, a company that makes its trillions through dumping carbon into the atmosphere. To claim that apple can’t afford to pay living wages and manage pay equity across the folks that work for them is a complete fallacy.

This system is broken. That’s not a millennial concern, it’s as plain as the nose on your face. To ridicule workers who have the courage and the gumption to stand up for their own rights, and to point out the ways in which women and BIPOC folks are treated differently, and to heap doubt and derision on their claims just shows how much folks have bought into a system built entirely on inequality.

You can’t really compare a CEO with workers. Should that part time store employee be in charge of the big decisions (like plans to drop Intel over the next two years)? CEOs make the biggest decisions that can lead to a massive company failure if not done properly. I think people need to get out of thinking CEOs do nothing while I’m the one making the product!

 

[Flight Plan]

Ha ha ha ha haaa! Ho ho ha ha haaaa! Whooo ha ha ha hooooha diddly hoo-ho ha ha!

Ahem… Sorry. Hee hee ha hoooo ha ha ha.

Stop it! Pull yourself togetherahahahaaaaaaa! Whaaaahahahahahahaha….. Ho ho ho haaaaaaha ha….

No, I, ha ha. I just can’t… HA HAVHAAAAA HA HAAAAA WHOOOOOOOOOOOOO HAHAA HAAAAAAAAAAAA!

I…. I…. I’m a teacher! Yes, I really am. I teach children. Share the wealth. HA haaa haaaa haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Thank you so much for this! I’m on the train home after teaching kids all day and this post has sooooo brightened me up with its childlike naivety.

HJAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!

I have no idea what you are laughing at. You spent all your post laughing and saying something unclear about "childlike naivety", but you didn't explain your point.

But nevermind that. I actually have a bigger, more important point that YOU AS A TEACHER should sit up and pay attention to.

Teachers are the 3rd most likely career choice for people who will one day become...wait for it...

Millionaires.

The top 5 careers of millionaires are: Engineer, Accountant, Teacher, Management, and Attorney. But there are lots of others in that mix too.

No fooling. So as a teacher, you don't need my pity. You don't need my "oh woe is you, you do such a hard job, blah blah blah." Dude, if you're making the most of your opportunities, you're gonna be fine. 😁

I highly recommend a book called "Everyday Millionaires" by Chris Hogan. They did the largest study ever of millionaires in the US; having interviewed and compiled statistics on more than 10,000 people who have a net worth of $1M or more. Not "earnings". Net worth.

If that book, and the underlying study don't convince you that you have an opportunity to build wealth during your working years, then nothing will. You can find the book in hardcopy or Kindle form, and I believe there's an audio book out there too.

Get serious. It's worth saying a third time. Even if you're in your 40s or 50s, you still have a chance to be a millionaire, and make your spouse one too. You have an opportunity, one that teachers have taken advantage of for years.

I don't really care if you come back to explain your post with all the "typed laughing". I just wanted to help you since you're a teacher. The ball is in your court now, and I wish you luck.

 

[Flight Plan]

If one really wants compensation to be a matter of public, then the employee review process and compensation history should be a public record also. This way there are no secrets.

I don't think any major companies publish salaries for the whole company. That would likely violate personal information requirements and would leave the company open to all sorts of legal problems and lawsuits.

Plus, doing that would devolve the conversations between employees and managers into nothing more than checklists of things that each employee did, when "performance" actually incorporates so much more than an inventory of how many widgets you made.

Checklists by themselves almost never tell the whole story. I know you wrote 20 apps, but that alone says nothing about the level of effort needed. Your co-worker wrote 15 apps, but maybe theirs were more difficult problems. Or maybe yours were more difficult, but you also had 3 team members.

And none of this tells the story of what kind of a team member you were. Were you rude? Were you supportive to team members and help them if they needed to learn a skill that you were already good at? Did you need to learn a skill and avoid asking for help? Were you stubborn about adopting and following team guidance or company requirements? Did you add to a good work environment, or did you contribute hostility to it?

That's the stuff that tells what you were REALLY like while working in your job. And THAT is the stuff that your pay is going to be based on, not necessarily how many apps you wrote, how many bugs you fixed, or other metric.

The story is so much more than the mere tallying of numbers. And this is where it gets sticky if you're publishing evaluation or salary specifics.

 

[albebaubles]

Fully agree with this perspective based on my sr management experience.

Discussion bans and leaning on confidentiality and intransparency puts downward stabilization pressure on compensation whereas transpara and discussion puts an asymmetric greater upward pressure.

During my 30+ year career the secret to making money was moving jobs every couple of years. Although leaving MS in '98 probably cost me millions. The weather out there is depressing; couldnt take it.

 

[albebaubles]

A company that attracts more resumes pays less. I’ve seen it, experienced it many times. And there’s always an employee that is sure they are radically underpaid. Apple can pay less than a company no one wants to be part of.

NOT ANYMORE. Remote work will have a negative affect on Apple maintaining the best talent. Timmy is shortsighted on this.

 

[albebaubles]

You reap what you sow. Apple has been endlessly virtue signaling, so obviously there are some eyes demanding the walk the talk internally.

Spot On!!!

 

[siddavis]

A company that attracts more resumes pays less. I’ve seen it, experienced it many times. And there’s always an employee that is sure they are radically underpaid. Apple can pay less than a company no one wants to be part of.

Until people don't want to be a part of it anymore. Supply & demand...

 

[albebaubles]

Let's be clear, in any sort of meritocracy, one person's pay rise or performance bonus is another person's perceived inequality. The key issue here is one of what equality we are aiming at. The West - that part of the world that has moved civilisation forwards in leaps and bounds since escaping from the stranglehold of the Church in the Middle Ages - strives to achieve equality of opportunity. There is a competing meme, favoured by many failed Communist regimes around the world, related to equality of outcome. This latter has failed everywhere it has been tried. Everywhere. It discourages engagement and commitment and individual endeavour, because you get the same outcome if you strive or if you do bugger all. So why not all do bugger all? And so the results are woeful.

Those people seeking equal pay, rather than equal opportunity, should leave and join some institution that is less engaged in creating and encouraging success. If they stay, and if Apple is persuaded to make everyone equal, it's time for Apple to shut its doors

Excellent insight, now please reassess since these are publicly traded companies.

 

[albebaubles]

I thought they would just use a grid for each position, time served etc, and kind of make it the same for everyone. Then if there are bonuses or incentives because someone hustles or works overtime to get something over the line etc, you can still earn your way.

It seems like a fairly easy thing to resolve. It's also funny to hear about these complaints, when Timmy got $750 million in stock 2 weeks ago. I'm not saying he needs to give that up, he worked for that as arranged with corporate, but yikes this doesn't seem hard to solve.

Imagine the bonuses you could pay with $750mil. nothing fair about US companies that are publicly traded.