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Theres a power shift underfoot at Apple. And for the first time since 2023, the Apple design team will report directly to the companys CEO. The news comes as Apple announced COO Jeff Williams will be retiring by the end of the year. While Williams will be handing the role over to Sabih Khan, oversight of the design team will not come along with the title. Instead, it will be handled by Tim Cook. Since 2023, the Apple design team has reported Williams in what seemed like a prioritization of global logistics over design excellence. Williams was an engineer by trade who oversaw the logistics of building Apple productsa most important expertise in running a company the size of Apple. Its the same expertise that led Tim Cook to rise to the role of CEO of the company. This move went alongside a deprioritization of design at Apple. Consider that Apple defined itself through a cozy relationship between design and the c-suite, and nowhere was the value of that relationship more historically articulated than in the partnership between Steve Jobs and Jony Ivewhich drove Apples unprecedented run of inventions, from the iMac to the iPod to the iPhone. After Jobss passing, Ive continued his role as VP of industrial design, where he reported directly to Tim Cook. Rumors point to this relationship being fraught. Ive left Apple in 2019 to form LoveFrom, and Evans Hanky took over the position. But when Hanky left in 2022 (she now works at io, the firm building out OpenAIs hardware initiatives), design was demoted in the process. Williams stepped in, creating a layer between the CEO and the design team. This timing coincided with a disastrous launch (and subsequent suspension) of Apples Vision Pro headset, along with Apples lagging strategy reconciling the role of AI in its products. Truth be told, Apple was not alone in demoting its design team within its greater corporate structure. Roughly 39% of Fortune 500 companies that were part of a recent survey had cut one or two of the top levels of design at their organization, deprioritizing designs voice within business. Of course, it stung more when Apple would make such a decision, given that it defined the power of design in corporate strategy. From what we can tell, this all means that Apples design lead Alan Dye, its VP of Human Interface Design, now reports directly to Cook alongside the design team. Apple did not respond to a request for clarification on that point. But in any case, Apple has subtly shifted its organization in what, on paper, seems to put a greater emphasis on design. Time will tell if this move improves Apples challenged product strategy.
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E-Commerce
The Supreme Court on Tuesday cleared the way for President Donald Trumps plans to downsize the federal workforce despite warnings that critical government services will be lost and hundreds of thousands of federal employees will be out of their jobs. The justices overrode lower court orders that temporarily froze the cuts, which have been led by the Department of Government Efficiency. The court said in an unsigned order that no specific cuts were in front of the justices, only an executive order issued by Trump and an administration directive for agencies to undertake job reductions. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the only dissenting vote, accusing her colleagues of a demonstrated enthusiasm for greenlighting this Presidents legally dubious actions in an emergency posture. Jackson warned of enormous real-world consequences. This executive action promises mass employee terminations, widespread cancellation of federal programs and services, and the dismantling of much of the Federal Government as Congress has created it,” she wrote. The high court action continued a remarkable winning streak for Trump, who the justices have allowed to move forward with significant parts of his plan to remake the federal government. The Supreme Court’s intervention so far has been on the frequent emergency appeals the Justice Department has filed objecting to lower-court rulings as improperly intruding on presidential authority. The Republican president has repeatedly said voters gave him a mandate for the work, and he tapped billionaire ally Elon Musk to lead the charge through DOGE. Musk recently left his role. Tens of thousands of federal workers have been fired, have left their jobs via deferred resignation programs or have been placed on leave. There is no official figure for the job cuts, but at least 75,000 federal employees took deferred resignation and thousands of probationary workers have already been let go. In May, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston found that Trumps administration needs congressional approval to make sizable reductions to the federal workforce. By a 2-1 vote, a panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals refused to block Illstons order, finding that the downsizing could have broader effects, including on the nations food-safety system and health care for veterans. Illston directed numerous federal agencies to halt acting on the presidents workforce executive order signed in February and a subsequent memo issued by DOGE and the Office of Personnel Management. Illston was nominated by former Democratic President Bill Clinton. The labor unions and nonprofit groups that sued over the downsizing offered the justices several examples of what would happen if it were allowed to take effect, including cuts of 40% to 50% at several agencies. Baltimore, Chicago and San Francisco were among cities that also sued. Todays decision has dealt a serious blow to our democracy and puts services that the American people rely on in grave jeopardy. This decision does not change the simple and clear fact that reorganizing government functions and laying off federal workers en masse haphazardly without any congressional approval is not allowed by our Constitution,” the parties that sued said in a joint statement. Among the agencies affected by the order are the departments of Agriculture, Energy, Labor, the Interior, State, the Treasury and Veterans Affairs. It also applies to the National Science Foundation, Small Business Association, Social Security Administration and Environmental Protection Agency. The case now continues in Illston’s court. Mark Sherman, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
The “No Tax on Tips” provision, passed and signed into law on July 4 as part of President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, allows eligible tipped workers to deduct a portion of their income from tips on their federal income taxes. There is a catch: It’s only a temporary provision, expiring in 2028 when Trump leaves office at the end of his second term. But the good news is that eligible workers can start deducting up to $25,000 of reported tip income for their upcoming 2025 tax year. Here’s what else to know. How ‘No Tax on Tips’ affects tax filing and paychecks This is a deduction, not an exemption, which means tipped workers will still need to report their tips when filing their taxes, instead of having the tips automatically taken out of taxable income, per Kiplinger. The No Tax on Tips provision also does not eliminate payroll taxes (like Social Security and Medicare) on tips, so you’ll still need to pay those. Who qualifies for ‘No Tax on Tips’? The No Tax on Tips deduction applies for those earning income up to $150,000 a year, or $300,000 for joint filers, which will be adjusted each year for inflation. Furthermore, it applies for “customarily tipped” workers. The U.S. Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) have yet to issue guidance on which jobs and occupations qualify, so stay tuned. However, the bill is likely to apply to workers that rely on tips, such as hair stylists, nail techs, restaurant servers, and bartenders, per Kiplinger. As Fast Company previously reported, No Tax on Tips also expands the business tax credit for the portion of payroll taxes that an employer pays on certain tips, to include payroll taxes paid on tips received in connection with certain beauty services, just like for restaurants. No tax on overtime pay Finally, the No Tax on Tips provision also applies to overtime pay, and a deduction will be available to eligible taxpayers regardless of whether they itemize. However, filers will have to provide their Social Security number on their 1040 form (or that of their spouse when filing jointly) in order to claim the deduction.
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E-Commerce
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