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Tony Blevins, the Apple executive in charge of trying to keep the tech giant’s costs down in China, is still hurting after he was fired in September after making a seemingly harmless joke that was captured on TikTok.
Months ago Apple confirmed that Blevins, 55, was departing Apple after 22 years following dozens of reports and complaints from several hundred employees over the viral video uploaded on September 5.
The departure came at the same time as a chain of events that impacted Apple’s supply chain in China, due to the country’s continued harsh Covid-19 related protocols. Blevins, the company’s vice president of procurement, was referred to as ‘Tim Cook’s cost cutter.’
In a new interview, Blevins says that he thinks that his firing was the result of Apple bowing to ‘broader cultural pressure.’ Speaking about his firing, Blevins said: ‘They humiliated me and damaged my reputation.’
In the video, TikToker Daniel Mac, who asks owners of expensive cars their occupation, approaches Blevins, 55, as he parks his $500,000 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren
In the video, TikToker Daniel Mac, who asks owners of expensive cars their occupation, approaches Blevins, 55, as he parks his $500,000 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren.
Like he’s done dozens of times, Mac asks Blevins what he does for a living, with Blevins answering: ‘I have rich cars, play golf and fondle big-breasted women, but I take weekends and major holidays off.’
‘Also, if you’re interested, I got a hell of a dental plan.’ In a new interview with the Wall Street Journal, Blevins said that he was told by a fellow executive after the video leaked: ‘This is really bad, some people have complained.’
He added: ‘It was 22 years dissolved in about 25 seconds. It utterly shocked me. My whole life has been Apple. I tried to be the most loyal person.’
The quote is a reference to the 1981 movie Arthur starring Dudley Moore and Liza Minnelli. The plot of the film revolves around a man born into wealth who surrounds himself with the finer things in life.
The quote is a reference to the 1981 movie Arthur starring Dudley Moore and Liza Minnelli. The plot of the film revolves around a man born into wealth who surrounds himself with the finer things in life
Blevins says in a new interview: ‘It was 22 years dissolved in about 25 seconds. It utterly shocked me. My whole life has been Apple. I tried to be the most loyal person’
Mac asks Blevins what he does for a living, with Blevins answering: ‘I have rich cars, play golf and fondle big-breasted women, but I take weekends and major holidays off.’
Members of Apple’s operations and procurement teams reported the video to Human Resources, with the topic becoming popular discussion among employees and business partners during the fallout
Members of Apple’s operations and procurement teams reported the video to Human Resources, with the topic becoming popular discussion among employees and business partners during the fallout.
They claimed that CEO Tim Cook and COO Jeff Williams were among those angered by the comments. Blevins was one of the few executives at the company who reported directly to Cook.
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Following his departure, Blevins was not properly replaced but rather a team was repurposed to fill the void, the Journal reports.
During his interview with WSJ, Blevins expressed his disbelief and remorse for the clip, which was made in private, to a non-colleague. He added his belief that Apple bowed to ‘broader cultural pressure.’
The former vice president said that many of his former charges still support him and testified that he had not exhibited any other troubling behavior. While others at the company believe that Apple should continue on with a zero tolerance policy on any seemingly sexually charged comments.
A former HR executive with the company, Chris Deaver, told the Journal: ‘Leaders need to embody Apple’s principles.’
Blevins, a graduate of the University of North Carolina, went on to say that a going away party thrown by his co-workers was abruptly canceled as negotiations on his departure with management ended sourly. The executive said that he didn’t receive severance.
He said: ‘They humiliated me and damaged my reputation.’
The video was taken on August 18 by TikToker Daniel Mac, at a car show Blevins attended in Pebble Beach, California. At the time of writing, the clip has more than 200,000 likes
The video was taken on August 18, at a car show Blevins attended in Pebble Beach, California. At the time of writing, the clip has more than 200,000 likes.
Blevins had most recently served as the tech giant’s vice president of procurement, where Salary.com and Glassdoor estimated his salary between $273,000 and $377,000.
In a separate 2020 Wall Street Journal feature about his prominence at Apple, Blevins told the outlet that he goes by ‘the Blevinator’ as he negotiates with suppliers to keep costs down for the tech giant.
At the same time that Blevins was fired, Apple announced it will make the iPhone 14 in India, as manufacturers shift production from China amid geopolitical tensions and pandemic restrictions that have disrupted supply chains for many industries.
While in November, a Reuters report highlighted that Apple’s reliance on China for its supply line was not what it was.
The data shows how a diversification drive by Apple and its suppliers, with investments in India and Vietnam and increased procurement from Taiwan, the United States and elsewhere, is reshaping the global supply structure, although analysts and academics say it will remain heavily exposed to China for many years to come.
‘The China supply chain is not going to evaporate overnight,’ said Eli Friedman, an associate professor at Cornell University who studies labour in China.
‘Decoupling is just not realistic for these companies for the time being,’ he said, although he expected diversification to accelerate.
