Update - 9/4/24: Apple has confirmed to iMore that Apple Retail Spain has introduced a new Working Conditions Agreement, supported by two main unions representing over 80% of the Works Council.  According to Spanish law, employees can voluntarily request a contract termination with an economic incentive following changes to their working conditions. The company says it works hard to provide an excellent experience for retail team members. The original story is below. 

120 Apple workers from three of its retail stores in Spain have opted to leave the company, after a new Working Conditions Agreement was introduced for employees.

The employees, from Puerta del Sol (Madrid), Passeig de Gràcia (Barcelona), and Valencia, have asked to sign a "termination document" that waives the right to litigation and includes a confidentiality agreement.

The report, from El Salto [Spanish] suggests Apple has laid off more senior employees at the three affected locations with the aim of replacing them with part-time workers. 

"Substantial change in working conditions"

The report describes the move as a "substantial change in working conditions", with many of the departing staff having "between ten and twelve years of seniority".

"There has been a maneuver to change the workforce profoundly and modify the structure of the company, which will now have fewer specialized workers and more young part-time workers, with no possibility of progress," sources say, with Apple already hiring 40 part-time workers on 20-24 hour contracts.

The new Global Agreement on Working Conditions was signed on July 9, following an apparent analysis of “productive and organizational needs of the Company” by Apple, and trade unions Fetico and CC OO.

The decision was reportedly made with the “needs for reconciling family, personal and work life, which have evolved along with the growth and maturity of our workforce" in mind, but workers suggest that the timing of each day is determined by a quarterly schedule created by an algorithm.

Apple has offered affected staff 20 days of compensation for each year worked, and up to a maximum of nine monthly payments.

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Lloyd Coombes is a freelance writer with a specialism in Apple tech. From his first, hand-me-down iMac, he’s been working with Apple products for over a decade, and while he loves his iPhone and Mac, the iPad will always have his heart for reasons he still can’t quite fathom.

Since moving from blogging to writing professionally, Lloyd’s work can be found at TechRadar, Macworld, TechAdvisor and plenty more.

He’s also the Editor in Chief at GGRecon.com, and on the rare occasion he’s not writing you’ll find him spending time with his son, or working hard at the gym (while wearing an Apple Watch, naturally). You can find him on Twitter @lloydcoombes.