What It's Like To Work Inside Apple's 'Black Site' (bloomberg.com)

An anonymous reader shares an excerpt from a Bloomberg report: Apple's new campus in Cupertino, California, is a symbol of how the company views itself as an employer: simultaneously inspiring its workers with its magnificent scale while coddling them with its four-story cafe and 100,000-square-foot fitness center. But one group of Apple contractors finds another building, six miles away on Hammerwood Avenue in Sunnyvale, to be a more apt symbol. This building is as bland as the main Apple campus is striking. From the outside, there appears to be a reception area, but it's unstaffed, which makes sense given that people working in this satellite office -- mostly employees of Apple contractors working on Apple Maps -- use the back door. Workers say managers instructed them to walk several blocks away before calling for a ride home. Several people who worked here say it's widely referred to within Apple as a "black site," as in a covert ops facility.

Inside the building, say former workers, they came to expect the vending machines to be understocked, and to have to wait in line to use the men's bathrooms. Architectural surprise and delight wasn't a priority here; after all, the contract workers at Hammerwood almost all leave after their assignments of 12 to 15 months are up. It's not uncommon for workers not to make it that long. According to 14 current and former contractors employed by Apex Systems, a firm that staffs the building as well as other Apple mapping offices, they operated under the constant threat of termination. "It was made pretty plain to us that we were at-will employees and they would fire us at any time," says one former Hammerwood contractor, who, like most of the workers interviewed for this story, spoke on condition of anonymity because he signed a nondisclosure agreement with Apex. "There was a culture of fear among the contractors which I got infected by and probably spread." Apex manages the workers it hires -- not Apple. "Following an inquiry from Bloomberg News, the company says, it conducted a surprise audit of the Hammerwood facility and found a work environment consistent with other Apple locations," reports Bloomberg.

"Like we do with other suppliers, we will work with Apex to review their management systems, including recruiting and termination protocols, to ensure the terms and conditions of employment are transparent and clearly communicated to workers in advance," an Apple spokesperson says in a statement.

Comments

And we wonder why Apple Maps has problems.

[jellomizer]

Having worked as a consultant and contractor myself (not for Apple). It always bugs me how I was treated like a second hand employee. Yes, I got paid more then the normal employees, but that is to cover the risk of being dropped at any time, and for me to find new business.

Contractors are often hired to work on "Career ending" projects, where a failure would cost your job and reputation (However working via a consulting firm, the individual gets isolated, as the firm takes the blame, and then just gets their licensed renew after the problem settles down). These jobs are often very complex, where a lot of things can go wrong.

That all said, there is often animosity towards the contractors. Which makes working cross departments difficult in general difficult, and often being blocked from accessing the companies soft employee benefits, such as the cafeteria, or the gym, in essence all these features designed to help improve productivity and moral. Means the contractors now are further hindered because they can access features to help improve their productivity and moral. Because being charged $250 an hour, you don't want to be caught at the Ping-Pong table, getting some exercise while you are thinking about how to solve the next problem.

Hearing that Apple Maps is primarily done by the contractors, I can see why it is a mess, not because of the lack of skill from these contractors, but because of the conditions they are working in. Granted what we hear isn't bad, but it is isolated from the Apple culture, so the Apple (lack of a better term) soul isn't there.

Re:And we wonder why Apple Maps has problems.

[ctilsie242]

In some cases, contractors don't make that much more than the FTEs. I have seen places where management deliberately pits contractors versus the FTEs, where the FTEs are told that their jobs can be replaced at any time by the contractors, and the contractors are told how awesome the cool benefits the FTEs get, like the gym and such... which they will never get to see unless they become FTEs.

In my experience, in general you are never told how long your gig will be. Of course, when your gig ends, you will never be told face to face. Your badge just stops working in the door, and your stuff on your desk is either packed up and at the front desk... or is likely at a local pawn shop. If lucky, you might be asked to drive to the contractor office, just for them to demand your badge and stuff there.

Your best defense as a contractor? Five things:

First, you make sure your "fuck you" fund is kept at at least a year's salary. This is NOT an IRA, and not a savings. This is a fund whose goal is to keep your rent/mortgage paid, food on the table, your vehicle out of repossession, and you relatively sane. This way, when you get laid off, you can take time and get a "real" job, and not wind up taking another contract job out of desperation.

The second thing: As a contractor, always keep your LinkedIn profile up to date, your resume up to date, keep contacts going, go to various business events, keep a GitHub public repository full of goodies that show your stuff, and keep a job hunt going at a low level. That way, when some company has a good FTE position, you can leave the craziness of the contractor world behind for some stability.

The third thing: Get some certificates. Tech co-workers don't care, but showing you have a Sec+ helps you for government work. A RHCE, MCSE, or CCIE will get you past the HR firewall in most companies.

The fourth thing: You generally don't get any vacation time. Make sure you have a vacation fund where you can just take some time off. This will keep you from burning out. Burnout is common as a contractor, and it will kill your career.

The fifth thing: Start looking for a FTE job eventually, or else you get branded as a "contractor only" person. Someone to be hired and fired and who isn't worth paying a full time salary too. Having contract jobs, especially if they are short term, is bad for the resume after a while, as you get viewed as disposable, or the first person on the list to get the axe.

Bigger company = more mediocrity

[Quakeulf]

This follows the rule of equilibrium in thermodynamics. Always have something in contrast to even out the rest. It comes naturally, and is why I would rather go out kicking and screaming than work for big tech.

Your company chooses risk

[SuperKendall]

At my company, contractors are treated more or less identically to full employees.

And that's how contractors win lawsuits to get full benefits.

Given the legal climate Apple is smart to take a hands-off approach to contractors and let conditions be totally managed by this other company,

I know most of them have been offered full time positions, but for whatever reason they prefer contract positions.

(A) This may be in violation of contracts they have signed with the contracting firm they are working through.

(B) Being a contractor in a large company is nice because you are more sheltered from political intrigue.

(C) You can often figure out how to give yourself equivalent benefits company workers get for less than they are paying, combine that with a higher contractor salary and converting to an employee can mean quite an earnings hit.