Ілюстрації Apple
Apple unveiled its Napoleonic plans shortly after Tim Cook’s meeting with Donald Trump. It is also important for the company to compensate for the new US duties.
Apple plans to invest $500 billion and hire 20,000 employees over the next four years. In particular, the company intends to launch a new factory in Texas. The Houston facility will produce servers that will support the work of Apple Intelligence. The company will also double its U.S. Advanced Manufacturing Fund, create an academy in Michigan to train engineers, and increase investments in research and development in the semiconductor industry. The initiative is described in Apple’s press release (via TechPowerUp).
«We are committed to the future of American innovation, and we are proud to build on our longstanding investments in the United States as we commit $500 billion to our country’s future. From doubling our Advanced Manufacturing fund to bringing advanced manufacturing to Texas, we are excited to expand our support for American manufacturing. We’ll continue to work with people and companies across the country to help write an extraordinary new chapter in the story of American innovation,» says Tim Cook, CEO of Apple.
Apple’s 2017 foundation will grow from $5 billion to $10 billion «Supports world-class innovation and high-skilled manufacturing jobs across the U.S.» Also includes a multi-billion dollar chip order at TSMC’s Arizona fab.
Apple says it will hire 20,000 new employees over the course of four years (i.e., the Trump administration’s term), most of whom will focus on «research and development, chip design, software development, and artificial intelligence and machine learning».
The company will open the Apple Manufacturing Academy in Detroit, where Apple engineers and other experts will offer companies advice on «implementing artificial intelligence and intelligent manufacturing technologies». The program will also include free classes for employees.
The new announcement largely repeats Apple’s statement from early 2018 (during Trump’s first term). Back then, the company also promised 20 thousand new jobs and $350 billion, as well as a new campus in Austin, which is still under construction. Apple’s last announcement of investments in the US was a promise in 2021 to spend $430 billion over the next five years, including a 3000-employee campus in North Carolina — the project has now stopped. According to The Verge, the company successfully appealed against exemption from customs duties for some of its products. New US investments will help protect the company’s business, including from further duties.