Okay, here’s someone who should not go. He’s basically the “Apple Silicon guy”.
It’s hardly an ‘exodus’ (clickbait headline). Some are leaving for other, competing opportunities, others approaching retirement. With a team that has been stable for so long, it’s inevitable that a group will approach this point with similar timing. With 167,000 staff, Apple will always have turnover, and because of the skill levels will always be a target for companies with fat wallets wanting to shortcut development times.
The same was said of the previous head of Apple silicon and absolutely nothing happened. Qualcomm spent truckloads of $$ getting him and his team, and all they achieved was to almost catch up to where Apple was 2 years ago. Nobody is irreplaceable, and if he’s done his job well, he will have people in his team ready to step up. (But remember this is an unsourced rumour - can you really imagine him saying, ‘hey Tim, I’m thinking of jumping ship for a competitor.’ His ass would be on the pavement before the sentence finished)
When I retired from Apple the first time (Almost overnight due to need to focus on a critical health issue, treatment for which caused other issues including a ‘widow maker’ heart attack), I had two in my teams trained and able to step up overnight. I’d introduced them to all my responsibilities, observe my decision making process, and had them lead meetings while I observed and gave feedback.
It’s part of the culture, and an expectation of all managers, regardless of level.
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The article addresses this (I believe here’s the “unpaywalled” version of the quoted Bloomberg report). Expected turnover (e.g. retirement) is certainly part of it, but the numbers are stacking up lately. Do you suggest that Gurman is making this up or blowing it out of proportion?
On the other hand, I agree that Apple will be fine. If Steve Jobs’ departure couldn’t sink the ship, nothing can.
He’s blowing it completely out of proportion for the clicks.
Yes the numbers are stacking up as quite a few people approach 65. I continued to 70 on my first round and came back at 71/72, but I was very much an outlier in terms of age.
Add to that the obscene amounts of money being offered to some of the younger ones to try to get talent that then flounders in the wrong environment. Meta for example has wasted $Billions on talent stealing and the payback has been scant. (they’re laying off ~600)
As for Jobs - a visionary who had more successes than failures, but had some spectacular poor decisions. Apple’s growth under Cook has had a much steeper trajectory.
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Clicks are a bad deal when the price is eroded trust. Who wants to be the analyst best known for unreliable reports…
Anyways, what’s the normal rate of leadership turnover then?
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Update:
As they say, ‘never let the truth get in the way of a good story’ 
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Who knows. I’m not saying this is what happened, but if I wanted to renegotiate my Christmas bonus without having to ask the boss… some people may overhear me thinking aloud about all those opportunities waiting out there. Those damn snitches!
Whatever. I’m glad he doesn’t leave.
If I felt like my career advancement was blocked, I might accidentally “overhear” my boss considering other options, too.
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Sounds like an Alan Dye experience.
You have a seriously (and delightfully) sick mind
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