Apple to offer employees $500 off a new Mac, $250 off iPads - report [u]
Update: Tipsters have revealed to AppleInsider that the Apple discounts will stack on top of the preexisting 25 percent discount.
Starting in June, the discounts will be available to employees who have worked more than 90 days at Apple, according to The Register. Employees will be able to obtain the $750 in discounts once every three years.
The announcement was made by Cook in a "town hall" meeting put on by Apple with its employees. It came a day after Apple announced a record quarter, in which it earned $13 billion.
For some products and configurations, the new discounts go well beyond what Apple has traditionally offered. Employees can currently receive a 25 percent discount on a complete Mac system one time per year.
But $500 off would actually be a reduced discount for some of Apple's high-end products when compared to the current 25 percent reduction. For example, a maxed-out 17-inch MacBook Pro, with 8GB of RAM and a 512GB solid-state drive, can cost over $4,000 at retail, and a 25 percent discount would amount to $1,000 in savings, or twice that of the new promotion.
But $500 off would be a larger discount in most cases. For example, an employee looking to buy the entry-level 11.6-inch MacBook Air would pay just $500 for the usually $999 notebook, while a 25 percent discount would only reduce the price to about $750.
The new perk also applies to all Apple employees, and not just those who work at the company's corporate headquarters in Cupertino, Calif. That means more than 60,000 workers, including those at Apple's hundreds of retail stores, will be eligible for the promotion.
42 Comments
I think this is a smart move. Apple employees already get a 25% discount once a year, so when you put $500 with that you get a good incentive to buy a machine. I'm sure there are a few employees that don't have Macs or iPads and this will help them to be better evangelists, especially in the retail space where the employees would be the most likely ones to not own a current product.
FYI, I've seen some posts by Apple employees that indicate that the two discounts can be used together, which contradicts the article somewhat.
I think this is a smart move. Apple employees already get a 25% discount once a year, so when you put $500 with that you get a good incentive to buy a machine. I'm sure there are a few employees that don't have Macs or iPads and this will help them to be better evangelists, especially in the retail space where the employees would be the most likely ones to not own a current product.
FYI, I've seen some posts by Apple employees that indicate that the two discounts can be used together, which contradicts the article somewhat.
Yes to this. However, it seems to me that Apple ought to really WANT all their employees to have iPads. Point being, they could get first-hand feedback (input from customers is SECOND-hand) on how a relatively new device performs in the real world, and also on what folks WANT it to do that it does not. With its astounding profits, and with a new iPad model coming around the bend anyway, Apple should GIVE each employee an iPad, while also offering discounts on its other products. Or if not this, than at least a much larger discount keyed to how long they've worked for Apple.
But $500 off would actually be a reduced discount for some of Apple's high-end products [...]
But $500 off would be a larger discount in most cases.
it's this kind of riveting analysis i've come to expect from appleinsider.com
You mean the chairman of HP has to pay full price for his MacBook Air, but the Apple Store staff who sold him the machine only has to pay $799?
Excellent deal for Apple employees, and they certainly deserve it. Funny thing is that Apple will still likely turn a profit on those sales, albeit much smaller obviously.