Apple abandons electric car plans as dozens of staff laid off

Apple‘s strategies to develop an electrical vehicle with self-driving abilities were called into doubt after the company cut lots of members of staff from its secret vehicle department.

Code-named project Titan, Apple has raked resources into a mysterious department taking a look at electric cars and self-driving car technology for at least 2 years to no avail, the New York Times reports.

In spite of many high profile hires and Tim Cook’s suggestion that the automobile industry should expect enormous modification, Apple has actually closed areas of the task and laid off staff in a move that might indicate it is deserting plans to create its own automobile.

The event follows the appointment of Apple veteran Bob Mansfield as head of the project in July. Mansfield has chosen to double down on efforts to produced self-driving innovation rather than making an electrical automobile itself, as per the Financial Times.

As part of the shift, Apple could be preparing to partner with an established automaker to introduce its entry into the car market, which would be a remarkable strategy shift for the business that generally develops its own hardware and software.

Apple was said to be preparing to a 2019 or 2020 release for its own automobile and had made a number of high profile works with to the department, including Chris Porritt, the former vice president of car engineering at Tesla.