I find this hard to believe given what I know about Apple's corporate culture. If your characterization of his employment is true, I don't believe it's common.

I find this hard to believe given what I know about Apple's corporate culture. If your characterization of his employment is true, I don't believe it's common. I think the closest that might come to this is Bob Mansfield. He returned after his retirement shortly after Scott Forstall left and eventually gave up his executive role, but even then he continued to work on "special projects", which turned out to be the Apple Watch [1] and now the Apple Car [2]. [1] https://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/10/disruptions-apple-is-said-to-be-developing-a-curved-glass-smart-watch/ https://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/10/disruptions-apple-... [2] https://www.wsj.com/articles/apple-taps-bob-mansfield-to-oversee-car-project-1469458580 https://www.wsj.com/articles/apple-taps-bob-mansfield-to-ove...