Apple is ramping up its investments in the U.S., announcing Monday its plans to make “new contributions of more than $430 billion” as well as adding 20,000 new jobs across the country within the next five years.
According to Apple, it has breezed past its original five-year-plan, laid out in 2018, for investing $350 billion in the U.S. economy. It is now increasing this — with a particular focus on next-gen chip development, AI, and 5G innovation.
“At this moment of recovery and rebuilding, Apple is doubling down on our commitment to US innovation and manufacturing with a generational investment reaching communities across all 50 states,” said Tim Cook in a statement. “We’re creating jobs in cutting-edge fields — from 5G to silicon engineering to artificial intelligence — investing in the next generation of innovative new businesses, and in all our work, building toward a greener and more equitable future.”
Apple says that it currently supports more than 2.7 million jobs in the U.S. Some of these are people employed directly by Apple, while others work with its suppliers and manufacturing bases, and still others have jobs in the “thriving iOS app economy.”
In Apple’s press release, it notes some of the cities and states in the U.S. that it’s working to add jobs in. One of these, unsurprisingly, is Apple’s home state of California. Apple also says that it plans to grow its team in Culver City, where Apple TV+ studios are based, to more than 3,000 employees by 2026. Other locations for Apple investment include Colorado, Massachusetts, Texas, Washington, and Iowa. All of these places currently have Apple-related projects in various stages of development.
Apple’s the biggest tax payer in the United States
Apple stepping up its focus on the United States comes at a time during which international trade comes with various challenges. Apple has built many of its products overseas dating back to the 1980s. Today, Apple is manufacturing in more countries than ever, particularly as it tries to lessen its reliance on China. But as the trade war under President Trump showed, overseas trade can, at times, be accompanied by some sizable headaches.
Apple also takes the opportunity to point out that it pays more tax than any other company in the United States. It notes:
“Apple is the largest taxpayer in the US and has paid almost $45 billion in domestic corporate income taxes over the past five years alone. Apple’s $430 billion in contributions to the US economy include direct spend with American suppliers, data center investments, capital expenditures in the US, and other domestic spend — including dozens of Apple TV+ productions across 20 states, creating thousands of jobs and supporting the creative industry.”
As with many tech giants, Apple has been under scrutiny for alleged monopolistic behavior from some politicians. Reminding everyone that is the biggest taxpayer in the country probably isn’t the worst move in that regard!
Source: Apple
