Cognizant is set to lay off 65 employees at the Apple Inc. campus in North Austin, representing another round of local workforce reductions for the large information technology consulting and outsourcing company. 

The affected employees are associated with tasks carried out at Apple's Americas Operations Centre located at 12545 Riata Vista Circle, reported The Business Journals. The nature of the work performed by these contractors for Apple remains unclear.

Apple stands out among tech giants, having refrained from substantial staff reductions in Austin, a contrast to Meta Platforms and Google LLC, a subsidiary of California-based Alphabet Inc. 

Amidst economic challenges, Apple's relatively new campus in North Austin is expanding, with the local workforce growing steadily to approximately 7,000 employees, according to the ABJ's list of largest regional employers. In June, Cognizant signalled plans to cut 56 Austin-based employees who were engaged with Meta at The Domain in North Austin. 

The layoffs stem from "a change in client needs and contract requirements," as stated in a letter signed by Cognizant Americas Vice President Noreen Kamka and submitted to the Texas Workforce Commission following the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Acts. 

According to the report, the letter, dated Nov 27, specifies that the permanent terminations will occur on Dec. 8, and affected employees have already been notified. Cognizant has committed to supporting affected employees in finding new roles within the company. 

Those securing new positions before the expected separation date won't face termination, according to the letter. Despite certain segments of Cognizant's Austin workforce expressing interest in unionisation and opposition to the company's return-to-office policies, the impacted employees are not represented by a union or any collective bargaining entity, according to the company. 

These terminations contribute to the ongoing trend of layoffs within Austin's technology sector this year, adding to concerns. However, The Business Journals said that Central Texas has remained relatively sheltered compared to more extensive industry cuts nationwide.