Tech

Apple Closes Deal On Beats By Dre, Leaves 200 Jobs At Risk

Josh Evans Contributor
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Apple officially closed a $3 billion deal to acquire Beats Electronics, which has been ongoing since the deal was announced in May.

The tech giant made the announcement on its website Friday morning, only a few days after receiving approval from the European Commission, a regulatory agency of the European Union, CNET reports.

(RELATED: ‘First Billionaire In Hip Hop’ Dr. Dre Celebrates Beats Headphones Sale To Apple [VIDEO])

“Music has always held a special place in our hearts, and we’re thrilled to join forces with a group of people who love it as much as we do,” Apple wrote.

Aside from the closing of Beats’ online store and an updated privacy policy, the new acquisition will have little impact on consumers at the moment according to The Verge. However, the consequences may be more severe for Beats employees.

Earlier this week, 9to5Mac first reported rumors that as many as 200 employees may be laid off following the acquisition. In response, Apple clarified that it would be offering jobs to all Beats employees, but not all of these offers would be permanent.

“Because of some overlap in our operations, some offers are for a limited period, and we’ll work hard during this time to find as many of these Beats employees as we can another permanent job within Apple,” the company said in a statement.

The support, financial and human resources departments of Beats are among those reported to be most affected by the layoffs.

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Josh Evans