ISTANBUL 

US tech giant Apple announced Tuesday that its Chief Operating Officer (COO), Jeff Williams, will retire later this year after 27 years of service.

Sabih Khan, the company's vice president of operations, will assume a large portion of the COO position later this month, according to a statement from Apple.

Williams will continue to lead Apple's design team, Apple Watch and the company’s Health initiatives during his remaining time at the company, answering to CEO Tim Cook.

“Jeff and I have worked alongside each other for as long as I can remember, and Apple wouldn’t be what it is without him. He’s helped to create one of the most respected global supply chains in the world; launched Apple Watch and overseen its development; architected Apple’s health strategy; and led our world-class team of designers with great wisdom, heart, and dedication,” Cook said.

As important workers who were involved in the company's years of rapid expansion near retirement age, Williams becomes the most recent longstanding Apple executive to resign.

Williams, 62, has managed Apple's powerful operations division, which is responsible for controlling costs while producing millions of intricate items like iPhones.

Following the retirement of longtime chief design officer Jony Ive in 2019, Williams also oversaw key teams at Apple, including the company's industrial design team.

Kahn has been working at Apple for 30 years and joined the executive team as senior vice president of operations in 2019.

For the past six years, he has been in charge of Apple's global supply chain, which includes planning, procurement, manufacturing, logistics and product fulfillment operations, in addition to Apple's supplier responsibility initiatives that safeguard and train employees at production sites across the globe.