The advertisements for employees (whether there were or will be any actual hires is unknown) is Apple's way of controlling the narrative in a case where they have long known they would be shipping an inferior product.

Every update to maps is now newsworthy, and every piece will be themed "look at all these improvements." Part of me, the cynical part, suspects that the earlier copyright issue with OpenStreetMaps was deliberate and intended to positively brand the product with the FOSS community by drawing attention to their use of open source. It was TomTom that they threw under the bus this week.