How is it reactionary ? Apple hasn't been paying EU taxes, its just readjusting past wrongs.
> given that Apple laid off 300 people (with pay) out of 6,000 people they employ,
Apple is not employing people out of charity, I am not sure why we should celebrate a multinational providing jobs to people, it's like celebrating when the postman successfully delivers your mail.
> those people were transcribing Siri conversations at that.
So they deserve no dignity ?
Apple is the richest company in the world, not your struggling SMB, they can afford to treat their workers better.
The most detailed and accurate article about Apple's tax liabilities that I have seen was published in Fortune[1]. It explains how multinationals actually are liable for US based corporate tax for ALL income all over the world, but there are two exemptions. One based around deferring tax payments and the other is for earnings from operations (not capital gains, etc) used to re-invest and grow the business.
[1] https://fortune.com/2017/10/31/trump-tax-reform-apple-multin...
That's where some people are disgruntled about companies such as Apple paying their fair share.