Dow Jones Business News reports that Apple recently laid off workers from its education division, which has fallen prey to state budget cuts and increased competition as of late. An Apple spokesperson said there were “minor work-force reductions” but declined to say how many jobs were cut. “The education market has been challenging as state budgets have been so strapped,” said Shannon Cross, an analyst at Cross Research. Cross noted that pressure from Dell and Hewlett-Packard has also intensified as many schools try to keep costs down.