San Francisco  - Apple has fired some 1,600 employees from its chain of retail stores due to slackening consumer demand, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

The job cuts were referenced in a securities filing by Apple Thursday in which the company said it had 14,000 full-time equivalent employees in its retail division as of March 28, down from the 15,600 as of the end of December.

The move came as Apple's recent earnings report showed a drop in sales for its Mac computer line, which is the biggest earner at the stores.

According to the earnings statement, the average revenue per Apple store fell about 17 per cent to 5.9 million dollars in the quarter, while the retail division's operating income was also down due to the "challenging consumer-spending environment," Apple said. (dpa)