Apple has begun reducing employees' daily AI spending limits as part of CEO John Ternus' broader cost-cutting efforts, Bloomberg reports. Engineers have seen allowances cut from $300 to $200, with further reductions planned across multiple teams, potentially down to $100 or even $25 for some groups. The company is encouraging the use of cheaper AI models or locally-run alternatives.
Despite these restrictions, Apple reported a 32% increase in R&D expenses to $45.8 billion for fiscal year 2026, driven by AI infrastructure costs. Employee reactions have been mixed, with some viewing the cuts as a sign of broader cost-cutting amid layoff concerns, while others note few were using their full $300 daily allowances. The restrictions apply to various AI services including Anthropic's Claude, OpenAI's ChatGPT, and Google's Gemini, though specifics on affected tools remain unclear.
Source: 9to5Mac · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing