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Apple reportedly dismissed over 200 employees from Project Titan

The autonomous vehicle program is apparently being restructured.

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Apple dismissed more than 200 people from its self-driving car program as it undergoes apparent restructuring.

James Martin/CNET

Apple this week cut more than 200 employees from its Project Titan self-driving car program, a report said Thursday.

The secretive program is under new leadership, and people inside the company view the dismissals as part of an expected restructuring, according to CNBC, which cited anonymous sources. Some employees, meanwhile, will move to different parts of the Cupertino, California, company.

Among the program's leadership is Doug Field, who returned to Apple last summer to work with Project Titan lead Bob Mansfield. Field had been overseeing production of the at Elon Musk's electric car startup.

An Apple spokesperson acknowledged the layoffs to CNBC, noting that the company still thinks "there is a huge opportunity with autonomous systems."

The company confirmed the CNBC statement via email, but declined to add further comment.

Earlier this month, Volkswagen reportedly poached Alexander Hitzinger from Project Titan to lead technical development for its commercial vehicles division, along with its self-driving car and mobility-as-a-service programs.

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