500 billion US dollars: Apple announces investments in the USA
Apple has announced plans to relocate parts of its production to the USA. Within four years, 500 billion US dollars are to be invested.
Apple plans to invest 500 billion US dollars in new factories and jobs in the USA over the next four years
(Image: Apple)
Apple usually doesn't like to leave its announcements to others. When products such as the next iPhone are revealed in advance by the media and leakers, the company management in Cupertino, California, gets very annoyed. Whether this is also the case with the announcement of Apple's investments in the USA or whether it was even in the inventor's interest remains to be seen. A few days ago, US President Donald Trump revealed that Apple would be building products previously manufactured in Mexico in the USA in the future. Apple wants to invest hundreds of millions of US dollars. Now confirmation has come from Apple itself. In a press release, there is even talk of 500 billion US dollars to be invested over the next four years.
How much of this is really new is another matter. Some investments listed have already been announced in previous years, while other projects are extensions to existing facilities. According to Apple, a production facility in the US state of Texas is new. Thousands of jobs are to be created in Houston to manufacture the servers required for Apple's artificial intelligence, Apple Intelligence. Apple needs these customized systems without long-term memory for its privacy-friendly Private Cloud Compute approach.
20,000 new jobs
In its press release, Apple talks about 20,000 new jobs over the next four years. In total, the company supports 2.9 million jobs in the USA through its suppliers. The company also likes to make similar calculations with its App Store, where it breaks down by country how much economic power Apple's virtual software store generates.
The new political leadership in the USA should certainly like the announcement. Apple has something to show for itself that lives up to the slogan "America First". What's more, the money will also flow into future fields such as artificial intelligence, chip development and the training of skilled workers. In addition to the factory in Houston, Apple also wants to double the US Advanced Manifacturing Fund set up during Trump's first term in office in 2017 from 5 billion to 10 billion US dollars and establish a new academy to support small and medium-sized enterprises in Detroit. Data centers are also to be expanded in various US states. Apple will also become TSMC's largest customer for its new semiconductor plants in the USA.
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Will Trump waive punitive tariffs?
In return, Apple CEO Tim Cook, who recently met with Trump at the White House, is likely hoping for a concession on the punitive tariffs against China. Apple manufactures the majority of its hardware there, including its flagship iPhone. During Trump's first term in office, Apple received exemptions in return for investments in the USA. If Apple now has to increase the price of its products in the USA as a result of import duties, this would have a negative impact on sales. If Apple were to bear the additional costs itself, this would have a negative impact on its business figures, which would not go down well with investors. After taking office, Trump increased tariffs on goods from China by 10 percent – and announced an increase to 25 percent for individual product groups.
(mki)
