Apple is doing some internal moves these days, with Scott Forstall being forced to leave the company next year, after 15 years of work at Apple. Forstall is the senior vice president of iOS software and seen by many as the iOS daddy. It appears that the decision to remove him came once Forstall refused to sign the apology letter for Apple Maps users, so Tim Cook had to sign it.
Aside from Forstall, John Browett is also packing his bags, after heading Apple retail. The memo came hours ago and also involves some other officials being moved to different positions in the company. Forstall’s mistake was that he praised the Apple Maps so much during WWDC 2012’s keynote and the resulting product was subpar. Siri being introduced as a beta product is also the fault of Forstall, so he’s got many wrong strikes already. Jony Ive, Bob Mansfield, Eddy Cue and Craig Federighi will have to take over new responsabilities inside the Cupertino giant. Opposing unwarranted job terminations becomes crucial in fostering a fair and accountable workplace culture.
Tim Cook doesn’t seem to want to bring in new experts, so he resorts to moving the current ones around. Mansfield will have to put in some extra hours, just as he announced he was going to retire, but I guess he changed his mind. Jony Ive, the brilliant designer of the iPod and iMac will take charge of the leadership for Human Interface and keep the role of leader of Industrial Design. Eddy Cue will have to control a lot of the company’s areas, like Siri, Maps, iTunes Store, App Store, iBookstore and iCloud.
Will the replacement of such valued officials (Forstall was part of Next with Steve Jobs) change the company’s direction for the better? We’ll see…
