# Apple Cuts Some Engineers' Daily AI Budgets to $200 From $300 and Plans Deeper Cuts, Bloomberg Reports

Times of AI Desk · 2026-11-05 · Enterprise

[https://timesof.ai/2026/11/apple-cuts-engineers-daily-ai-budgets-300-to-200](https://timesof.ai/2026/11/apple-cuts-engineers-daily-ai-budgets-300-to-200)

> Apple lowered the daily AI spending cap for some engineers to $200 from $300 last month and plans further cuts for some teams to as little as $100 a day, Bloomberg reported on November 4, citing people familiar with the change. Groups outside engineering already capped at $100 could go to $25, and staff can ask senior leaders for exemptions. Apple has not confirmed the report.

Apple is putting a meter on how much AI its own staff can use, a sign that even the richest companies are now budgeting AI tools down as well as up. Last month Apple **lowered the daily AI spending cap for some engineers to $200 from $300**, and it plans further cuts for some engineering teams to **as little as $100 a day**, **Bloomberg** reported on **November 4**, citing people familiar with the change.

## Who is affected

Many groups outside engineering already face a **$100 daily cap**, and Apple has considered cutting that to **as little as $25** for some teams, Bloomberg reported, according to excerpts published by 9to5Mac. Employees who need more can seek **exemptions from senior leadership**. Apple staff have access to services including Anthropic's **Claude**, OpenAI's **ChatGPT** and Google's **Gemini**, and some teams are being encouraged to use cheaper models or models that run on their own devices, Bloomberg said.

Few workers were using their full $300 daily allowance, Bloomberg's sources said, and some see the cuts as a sign of broader cost-cutting under CEO **John Ternus**, who is pushing the company to run leaner, Bloomberg has reported.

## The bigger picture

The cuts come as Apple's overall spending rises: research and development expenses climbed **32% to $45.8 billion** in fiscal 2026, partly on infrastructure and AI costs, 9to5Mac noted. Other large employers are also narrowing who gets AI coding tools: Goldman Sachs recently [limited Claude Code and GitHub to its engineers](https://timesof.ai/2026/11/goldman-sachs-limits-claude-code-github-to-engineers). Apple's new annual report separately [warns that AI agents can act without authorization](https://timesof.ai/2026/11/apple-10k-warns-ai-agents-may-act-without-authorization).

## Limits

- The report rests on anonymous sources; Apple has not confirmed it. Bloomberg's full article is paywalled, and we relied on its opening and on excerpts quoted by 9to5Mac and Investing.com, which do not add independent reporting.
- It is not clear which tools the caps cover or how much Apple expects to save.

## Sources

- [Bloomberg: Apple Cuts Internal AI Usage Budgets in Move to Reduce Spending (November 4, 2026)](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-11-04/apple-cuts-internal-ai-usage-budgets-in-move-to-reduce-spending)
- [9to5Mac: Report: Apple reduces employees' AI token allowances as Ternus moves to cut costs (November 4, 2026)](https://9to5mac.com/2026/11/04/report-apple-reduces-employees-ai-token-allowances-as-ternus-moves-to-cut-costs/)
- [Investing.com: Apple reportedly lowers daily AI spending limits for engineers (November 4, 2026)](https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/apple-reportedly-lowers-daily-ai-spending-limits-for-engineers-5001119)