Apple may have won EC approval of its $3bn Beats acquisition, but the deal hasn’t actually closed yet – it’s expected to this quarter, assuming various lawsuits filed since it was announced don’t prove a barrier. Now there are reports of the likely consolidation post-merger, with 9 to 5 Mac claiming yesterday that most of Beats’ support, finance and human resources departments are being laid off – not entirely a shock in this kind of deal – while “many” in development and creative roles have been offered jobs at Apple. Interestingly, the report cites a single source as claiming both Beats Music CEO Ian Rogers and its creative totem Trent Reznor will be joining Apple, despite uncertainty over their plans in recent months. Bloomberg added its own reporting to the story, claiming that the number of layoffs will be around 200 once the acquisition closes, with a similar emphasis on departments where there’s an overlap between Beats and Apple.
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Tools: Kaiber
In the year or so since its launch, AI startup Kaiber has been making waves,…