Apple iOS Maps Fiasco: Another Executive Fired

Looks like Apple is not yet done with the cleanup job – after its infamous iOS 6 Maps fiasco. Just a few weeks after Apple’s scott Forstall, a veteran Apple employee was fired for messing up the iOS Maps rollout and subsequently refusing to apologise to consumers for the same, it is now the turn of yet another executive to be shown the door.

The usually very trustworthy AllThingsD reports that the executive in question happens to be Rich Williamson – another senior official at Apple who oversaw the mobile maps program that resulted in iOS Maps. Apart from Scott Forstall, the company’s retail chief John Browett too was relieved of his duties last month.

To counterbalance these sweeping moves, Apple also announced major changes to its executive lineup with senior officials John Ive, Bob Mansfield, Eddy Cue and Craig Federighi being promoted to higher positions. This according to Apple is being done to better integrate its hardware, software and services units.

Back in September, soon after Apple launched the iOS 6 laden iPhone 5, complaints were rife about the inferiorness of the new maps application from Apple. With the five year long contract with Google coming to an end, Apple was left with no choice but to invest in its own mapping tool. They also wanted to be independent of Google and not rely on its archrival for a very critical piece of software. However, it was naive of anyone to imagine that Apple could better Google when it comes to Mapping – the latter having a good five – six year headstart over the former.