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Apple announces American Manufacturing Program
- andsoitis 1y agoThis seems like a good thing. I would be curious to understand better if gay is the trigger for Apple. Is it because when they assess the various geopolitical dynamics that they conclude that this is the best thing for the company? Or did they get strong incentives (whether carrots or sticks) and that is why they’re doing it.
- al_borland 1y agoAren’t those one in the same?
- croes 1y agoUnless Apple cuts its margin it means their products will become more expensive.
- onlyrealcuzzo 1y agoThey need to grow their margin to grow their P/E, so I can tell you what they aren't doing voluntarily.
- Aloisius 1y agoPlenty of other ways to grow P/E ratio without increasing margin and of course, they don't really need to increase their P/E ratio.
- Fade_Dance 1y agoCarrot on a stick. Apple has been directly threatened with tariffs by Trump. Currently they are exempt from the India tariffs. The capex commitment in the US is a transactional agreement to ensure that these exceptions are kept.
- browningstreet 1y agoForced compliance never generates the follow-through or results of authentic strategy.
- njovin 1y agoI would love to see a list of commitments that corporations and foreign bodies have made to investment in the US, and how they've actually played out over time. They made a similar commitment in 2018 [1] and 2021 [2], but I can't find any info about whether they actually followed through and whether the projected job numbers were accurate. [1] https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/17/apple-announces-350-billion-investment-20k-jobs-over-5-years.html https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/17/apple-announces-350-billion-... [2] https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/apple-announces-430-billion-investment-us-20000-jobs/story?id=77314369 https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/apple-announces-430-billio...
- lokar 1y agoDoes it matter? Even if nothing gets built both sides are getting what they want.
- sgc 1y agoYes, because the theater effectively deceives a large portion of the voting public. "Both sides" here are the least important players in the charade. It's everybody they are hosing I care about.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- loeg 1y agoNo large portion of the voting public is paying any attention to this.
- lokar 1y agoAnd most who are paying attention are in it for the vibes. They don’t know enough about trade, economics, international relations or policy to really have an opinion independent from “my side good, other side bad”
- TheAlchemist 1y ago
- Arubis 1y agoIn isolation, this might be a positive. But watching one of the world’s richest multinationals do this primarily in response to an autocratic, authoritarian regime is neither a good look nor what we should hope for as an example of how to influence corporate decisionmaking.
- atonse 1y agoI totally agree with you about the motivations... and I can't speak to how many long term jobs will come out of this. But if this even gives us some chance to jolt our manufacturing sector back, will we start to gain some momentum? Even if it's mostly using automation. Will it help to reduce our reliance on China? I doubt it will in the same way that it's been extremely hard for other countries to replicate the US momentum in R&D. But one can hope.
- tootie 1y agoCook is getting significant considerations on imports and offering Trump PR with zero obligation. Maybe they invest, maybe they don't, maybe they just do what they were going to do anyway.
- chrisco255 1y agoThen they'll pay import tariffs on the foreign components. And they'll increase their supply chain risk (as well as regulatory risk) in a polarized political climate.
- seanmcdirmid 1y agoTrump is only in office for 3 and a half years. Spending $600b will take much longer time than that. Assuming america remains democratic, the next president is very likely to wash away most of what Trump has done on day one (since he did all of this via executive order).
- chrisco255 1y ago1. The escalated tension between the United States and China is unlikely to resolve in the next 3.5 years. Apple already took the step to move iPhone production to India. However, as recently shown, even India could be subject to tariffs as they are purchasing Russian oil and in effect funding the Ukraine war. The next president will have to operate in a multipolar world. 2. The tariffs are producing revenue for the Federal government. Hundreds of billions per year. To remove the tariffs arbitrarily in the future, a President would need to assume the political risk of increasing the national deficit. 3. Trump imposed tarriffs on his first term that Biden did not reverse. Even if the next President is a Democrat it's more likely than not that the trade deals remain in place. 4. A strong contender for the next president is the current vice president, JD Vance, who would be highly unlikely to reverse.
- pcunite 1y agoWill be a good thing ™
- xnx 1y agoThere have been many of these announcements that never amounted to anything: 2017: "Apple promised to give US manufacturing a $1 billion boost" 2018: "Apple will make $350 billion contribution to U.S. economy and promised to create 20,000 jobs" 2021: "Apple commits $430 billion in US investments over 5 years" From https://bsky.app/profile/bgrueskin.bsky.social/post/3lvqqyd4zns2j https://bsky.app/profile/bgrueskin.bsky.social/post/3lvqqyd4...
- MaxPock 1y agoThe reason why they don't amount to anything is because there is usually no follow-up and accountability. In China,after such an announcement ,a CCP official(whose promotion hinges on successful implementation of the investment)would have been assigned to Apple to see to it that the project is completed
- bamboozled 1y agoBecause it’s an authoritarian dictatorship that forces people to do things to achieve its goals ?
- mbs159 1y agoThem being forced to do things due to the dictatorship is not a compelling argument, as people are forced to do things in Western societies too, via other external factors like risk of poverty and hunger.
- ulfw 1y agoWhat does this have to do with Apple or manufacturing investment pledges? Who is going hungry?
- darthoctopus 1y agothat is the point --- precisely because the usual mechanisms of enforcement do not apply, there will be no accountability for Apple.
- nelox 1y agoApple’s announcement should be welcomed as a tangible demonstration of corporate accountability in the age of offshore tax minimisation and digital opacity. Rather than simply repurchasing stock or warehousing profits abroad, Apple is deploying capital to grow its US footprint, support domestic suppliers and invest in technological infrastructure. The program’s breadth also deserves recognition. It includes manufacturing partnerships, data centres, clean energy, and support for educational and community initiatives. This is not PR fluff. Apple’s prior commitments funded chipmaking in Arizona, new engineering hubs and 5G innovation. The expansion builds on that trajectory. Critics may argue Apple is acting in self-interest. So be it. Public policy should align incentives such that private benefit also serves the public good. In this case, job creation, supply chain resilience, and regional development in states like Iowa and Oregon are clear wins. Of course, Apple’s global tax practices remain a fair target. But criticising every constructive move on that basis alone risks undermining the very kind of behaviour governments should encourage: strategic reinvestment, not financial engineering. This is a large, measurable, and multi-year commitment. It should be acknowledged as such.
- wat10000 1y agoThis is neither accountability nor public policy, it’s bullying by a weak man who wants desperately to be seen as strong, who changes his mind on a whim, and who rarely follows through.
- Flatcircle 1y agoWish everyone in America could read this even keeled comment. Great stuff from Apple
- szundi 1y ago[dead]
- vineyardmike 1y ago> Apple’s announcement should be welcomed as a tangible demonstration of corporate accountability in the age of… They brought a 24k gold trophy for the president. That’s the tangible demonstration here. > This is not PR fluff. > Critics may argue Apple is acting in self-interest. This is PR fluff and, as a critic, I don’t think it’s in anyone’s best interest. > This is a large, measurable, and multi-year commitment. It should be acknowledged as such. How does this compare to the large measurable multi year commitments from the last few administrations that never materialized? What about the one from a few months ago the ago? https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2025/02/apple-will-spend-more-than-500-billion-usd-in-the-us-over-the-next-four-years/ https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2025/02/apple-will-spend-more...
- energy123 1y agoOnshoring chip manufacturing - good Onshoring assembly of consumer electronics despite low unemployment - bad It's good the correct subset of manufacturing is being onshored.
- palmotea 1y ago> Onshoring assembly of consumer electronics despite low unemployment - bad Why? Especially considering military systems are looking increasingly like masses of consumer electronics (e.g. FPV drones).
- energy123 1y agoIf the US is willing to import many more low-skilled workers, then I would agree it's a great idea. Absent that, with a 4% unemployment, then the pigeon hole principle makes it difficult. Open to proposals about how it could be done without significant downside.
- aleph_minus_one 1y ago> If the US is willing to import many more low-skilled workers, then I would agree it's a great idea. Bring back slavery to the USA. :-)
- palmotea 1y ago> Open to proposals about how it could be done without significant downside. That's a policy straitjacket: a demand that strategic and necessary things can be done only if there's no downside for some privileged group. If the US doesn't want to be a weak-ass paper tiger, it needs the capability to mass-produce consumer electronics (a civilian capability that can be redirected for military purposes, if needed). That will likely require trade offs. Let's employ fewer people in the sandwich-assembly industry and more people assembling electronics.
- typ 1y agoDownstream assembly factories attract component manufacturers because of lower transport costs and shorter delivery times, which can lead to network effects. (Remember why Intel wanted to build more foundries in China a few years ago?) That's the success formula of Shenzhen, for example.
- jimbob45 1y agoHow does this square with the Indian tariffs? Are they going to entirely abandon all of their efforts to shift to India from China and pivot to America instead? Or is this in addition to those efforts as a plea for the current administration to drop India’s tariffs? Either way, India seems like it has once again miscalculated who to side with on the world stage. Russian oil may be cheap, but Russia hasn’t been a reliable ally to any country in the past 30 years, and now India looks set to lose significant investments from the US.
- v5v3 1y agoOnly items sold in America may need to be made in America? So India/ China can supply other markets?
- jimbob45 1y agoApple was investing heavily in Indian manufacturing to move off of Chinese manufacturing (allegedly, of course). India is free to supply other markets but that's not what we're talking about here.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- cfyohyuityun 1y agoCook gave Trump a custom gold trophy. Spineless ******.
- v5v3 1y agoHe is the CEO of a company. A president has been elected and will be in office for next 4years still, during which Apple may need his help with issue faced with foreign governments. It's not spineless, it's his job to act in the interests of the company
- tastyface 1y agoSo Apple is just straight up admitting, in front of the nation, that the current government blatantly operates on bribes.
- v5v3 1y agoA president was elected on a very specific mandate. Aside from a few things, Trump did say what he was going to do. And that included Tariffs and pressuring US companies to move manufacturing home. It's what the people voted for and Apple knows this.
- jaybrendansmith 1y agoOh please. We all voted for this blatant corruption?
- 1y ago
- Jyaif 1y agoTrump encouraging companies to move engineering outside of the US, and manufacturing inside of the US. Truly a genius.
- LatteLazy 1y agoI feel like this is just harmless PR no? People have pointed out that brands all put rainbows on their public docs for pride month. But not in Islamic countries and much less with Trump in power etc. This is just the same effect but for US nationalists no? Actual decisions and spending/investment etc will continue to be driven by economics. But PR is about who you want to reassure/appease/curry favour with. And the two are basically independent.
- archagon 1y agoRelated: “Apple made a 24k gold and glass statue for Donald Trump” https://www.theverge.com/news/737757/apple-president-donald-trump-ceo-tim-cook-glass-corning https://www.theverge.com/news/737757/apple-president-donald-...
- nxobject 1y agoOnly Apple could make a classy ornament for such a tacky gilded-baroque office...
- TheOtherHobbes 1y agoI appreciate how calibrated it is. It's literally empty, it's almost completely transparent, and the 24K gold base is worth far less than a millionth of Apple's annual profits. Luckily the president doesn't know a metaphor when he sees one.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- fennecfoxy 1y agoAhahahahaha. HA HA HAAAaaaa. Even if they do actually follow through with it, it'll only be "assembly". Also people calling for tariffs do not understand them, nor do they understand that; yes, China manufactures a shitload of iPhones, and Chinese companies make a small profit on doing so - a deal with Apple is very lucrative. But the majority of the profit made from selling an iPhone goes to Apple, aka an AMERICAN company. For iPhones sold ALL over the world. Waaaa, I have to import my iPhone from China to America; the profits are still going back to America, perhaps every country that iPhones are sold in needs to put a tariff on nonlocally made products from a nonlocal company to match the absolute stupidity of Trump's logic.
- ElectronCharge 1y agoI guess you didn't read the article. TSMC is building factories in America, and Apple is the biggest customer so far. It's a similar situation for rare earth magnets. So, not just "assembly". As to tariffs in general, you should learn about something called the "trade deficit". The other countries, such as China, already had tariffs on American products, America is simply reciprocating. If tariffs are so stupid, why do so many countries use them I wonder? One beneficial side effect of tariffs is bringing strategic manufacturing onshore, such as...semiconductor manufacturing. Like it or not, the US economy will grow explosively as a result of the current economic policies, after an adjustment period.
- insane_dreamer 1y ago> Today, Apple partners with thousands of suppliers across all 50 states, supporting more than 450,000 supplier and partner jobs. In the next four years, Apple plans to directly hire 20,000 people in the U.S. — the vast majority focused on R&D, silicon engineering, software development, and AI and machine learning. So the new jobs they're creating _won't_ be in manufacturing. Nice PR headline though.
- assword 1y agoI’d wager about half of those roles are imported too.
- insane_dreamer 1y agoAnyone remember the $10B Foxconn factory in WI? And Intel's $28B factory in OH? PR (and golden gifts (bribes?)) is easy.
- Buttons840 1y agoLet's appreciate that Tim Cook traveled to the White House to present President Trump with literal gold. Cook said it was "designed for you" when presenting it to Trump. Top tier fidelity here, like in days of old, the Duke of Apple has traveled far to present King Trump with tribute. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/08/07/tim-cook-trump-gift/85555805007/ https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/08/07/tim-...
- jjulius 1y ago"Fidelity", or "fellating"?