Apple is shifting the focus of its secret car project

Apple is seriously rethinking its self-driving vehicle plans and is laying off “dozens of employees”, according to a report from The New York Times.

Apple, the technology colossus which has started its project named Titan for self-driving cars is rumored to have fired a couple of dozen employees. Alphabet, the parent company of Google, has tested self-driving cars on the road for years, but its focus has been on designing the underlying software and systems to make that technology work. The testing of autonomous vehicle software is indicative of a recent “reboot” in strategy for Apple, which is said to be moving away from building its own electric auto to focus on developing self-driving software.

Apple always differentiated from other companies mainly through its secrecy. That said, it’s hard to see what Apple will be able to bring to the table when companies like Tesla and Mercedes are already making so much progress in the area.

An Apple spokesperson declined to comment Friday.

The WSJ reported 2 months ago that Bob Mansfield the legendary Apple hardware boss who built the iPhone and led Apple’s ultra-successful hardware manufacturing business up until a few years ago would be taking over the project. Bloomberg earlier reported the strategy change. The company picked up automotive industry veterans and experts in battery technology and machine vision.

The team also pulled in staff members from other divisions across Apple, growing to more than 1,000 employees in about 18 months.

But the latest rumours surrounding Project Titan suggest Apple is rethinking its strategy again as competitive tech companies are racing ahead with self-driving developments. His departure opened the door for Mr. Mansfield, who worked closely with Apple’s co-founder, Steve Jobs, but left the company’s executive team in 2013.

Apple has also made some headway in the space.

According to the New York Times report, Apple has been testing a number of self-driving vehicles with simple, restricted operating routes in closed environments.

Katie Benner and Mike Isaac contributed reporting.