There have been rumors that Apple is secretly building a car, presumably an autonomous one. However, the project seems to have hit another roadblock. The project, codenamed Titan, has allegedly been scaled down. Instead of concentrating on building a physical car, the project will now focus on developing an autonomous system which may then be sold to automakers.

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According to a Bloomberg, the project consisted of about 1,000 employees. Several hundred of them have allegedly been reassigned to other projects. A large number of the employees have reportedly also been laid off. The move will provide Apple more flexibility as it gives the company the chance to collaborate with other automakers for physical product. 

It is also believed that Apple's auto team has been given a more stringent deadline. They have allegedly been asked to provide feasible results by the end of 2017. However, Apple has declined to make any comment about the developments. Originally, the project was required to deliver the physical car by 2019 or 2020.

However, the project was mired with internal stifles which saw project leader Steve Zadesky leaving earlier this year. The team has experienced multiple rounds of layoffs throughout the year. The first round likely took place in August and the second one in September. 

It is not merely Apple which is feeling the heat in the autonomous car segment. Google is also believed to be facing challenges with its autonomous car project.