Apple is set to terminate a limited number of employees belonging to its corporate retail teams, according to a new Bloomberg report.

This is regarded as Apple’s first layoff advances since its earlier attempts to cut down spending costs across the board, adds the report. The affected teams are known internally as development and preservation teams, which largely oversee “the construction and upkeep of Apple retail stores and other facilities around the world”, adds the report.

While the report establishes that the number of terminated positions is “likely very small”, it considers this an important development as Apple has done everything possible to avoid a downsizing policy. Apple CEO Tim Cook previously stated that the company views layoffs as “a last resort kind of thing”.

Supercharged has requested more information from Apple regarding the layoffs. We will accordingly update this article once we receive a response.

Apple internally views its move as a “streamlining effort”, rather than a company-wide layoffs strategy, adds the report. The company is preparing plans to compensate affected employees, offering up to four months of compensation, according to the report.

The company has also reportedly offered axed employees the opportunity to “reapply for a number of roles similar to their prior jobs”. Terminated management roles were also offered similar opportunities in “individual contributors” roles, albeit at a lower compensation, stressed the report.

Apple has previously let go of recruitment contractors and has enacted a hiring freeze policy across many of its teams. However, this is the first time that the company is terminating full-time salaried corporate employees.

Apple has largely avoided the tens of thousands of job cuts that its competitors have enacted over the last few months amid economic uncertainty. Time will tell whether the Cupertino company plans to follow its competitors’ footsteps.