Apple has stepped up cost-cutting efforts to freeze recruitment of many jobs other than R & D

Beijing, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) Apple has suspended recruitment of many jobs outside its R & D department, an upgrade to an existing plan to cut next year's budget, according to people familiar with the matter.

Apple, which is based at Apple, took the measure last month, ahead of the release of its new quarterly results. In announcing its results, Apple said its growth would slow in the holiday quarter. The hiring pause generally does not apply to teams developing future equipment and long-term projects, but will affect some of the company's functions and standard hardware and software engineering roles, according to people familiar with the matter.

Apple said in a statement that it would continue to hire, "but in view of the current economic environment, we have taken a very cautious approach in some areas of our business. We want to be thoughtful and make informed decisions so that we can promote innovation in the long term." The company added that it is confident about Apple's future.

Some teams within Apple can still recruit under special circumstances, and the company is still posting new positions on its recruitment website, according to people familiar with the matter. However, while Apple is still recruiting new positions, the actual hiring process has been largely shelved. After the news, apple shares changed from rising to falling in after-hours trading, down 1%, and are down 22% this year.