Following the departure of several key engineers from Apple’s AI department—including the designer of the iPhone Air project—Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports in his Power On newsletter that OpenAI and former Apple design chief Jony Ive continue to poach Apple’s hardware engineering talent. OpenAI has hired over 40 people in recent months, signaling a significant loss for Apple in its efforts to develop current and future technologies.
According to Gurman, this talent acquisition is part of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Jony Ive’s plan to create a family of beautifully designed hardware devices, potentially unveiling a glimpse of them in 2026. Among the new hires are former Apple industrial design head Evans Hankey and hardware engineering executive Tang Tan. Beyond executives, Apple is also losing numerous hardware engineers at various levels.
Sources indicate that Apple is increasingly concerned about this talent drain. It is now considered a serious problem as key directors, managers, and engineers from important divisions such as camera engineering, iPhone and Mac hardware, silicon, device testing and reliability, industrial design, manufacturing, audio, and smartwatches are departing. This situation recalls the retention strategies exemplified during the Steve Jobs era when Apple maintained strict policies against poaching talent, famously challenging Adobe CEO Bruce Chizen on his hiring practices.
While Apple traditionally refrains from matching the high salaries offered by other tech giants, this ongoing exodus highlights challenges in retaining its workforce amid retirements and resignations of key executives. Despite its large employee base, Apple appears unprepared for such significant losses in a short span, especially at a time when it faces challenges with its Siri team and critical product developments, including foldable devices and augmented reality glasses.
This continued talent outflow could impact Apple’s competitiveness as it strives to maintain its innovative edge in hardware and AI technology.
