Apple says ads engineer leaves company after past comments draw fire

Apple has ad slots in the App Store, Apple News and Stocks apps, but has clamped down on the ability for third-party app developers like Facebook to target users with personalized ads.

Apple Inc. said Antonio Garcia Martinez, a former Facebook Inc. product manager who recently joined the iPhone maker, is no longer at Apple after his hiring caused an internal backlash because of past comments that drew fire for being racist or sexist.

Garcia Martinez, who was hired last month to work in product engineering on Apple’s advertising platform team, has left after just a couple of weeks on the job, the Cupertino, California-based company said Wednesday in a statement.

“At Apple, we have always strived to create an inclusive, welcoming workplace where everyone is respected and accepted,” an Apple spokesman told Bloomberg