Apple Lays Off A Handful Of Fitness+ Staff Working On Audio Features, Bloomberg Reports
Apple has laid off a handful of employees in its Fitness+ team, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, who reported on 20 September 2026 that the staff worked on the service's audio features. Apple has not commented on the cuts.
- Team: Apple Fitness+, audio features including Time to Walk and Time to Run
- Scale: a handful of staff; no number given
- Effect: new audio releases expected to drop in frequency, not stop
- Service status: not being shut down, according to the report
- Earlier: in August, Bloomberg reported more than 200 roles cut across Vision Pro and Siri-related teams
What Apple Is Cutting
The audio side of Fitness+. Time to Walk and Time to Run are guided audio sessions, often featuring well-known guests, that Apple has used to give the subscription something beyond workout videos. According to the report, new releases in those series will become less frequent. The report said Fitness+ itself is not on the chopping block for now, though some inside the team see the cuts as the start of deeper cost reductions.
A Second Round In Two Months
In August, Bloomberg reported that Apple had cut more than 200 roles, roughly half in Vision Pro gaming and immersive video and half in Siri and related software teams. Apple said at the time that the changes were made to evolve its business and would affect a limited number of existing roles. The September cuts are separate and much smaller.
Why It Matters Beyond Apple
Fitness+ is one of Apple's services bets, sold inside the Apple One bundle alongside music and TV. Trimming the premium content inside it, rather than the service, is a pattern subscription businesses are following widely: keep the product, spend less on making new things for it.