Create a free Manufacturing.net account to continue

Apple Dedicates $1B To Help US Advanced Manufacturing

CEO Tim Cook suggested that that targeting advanced manufacturing would help the fund be a "ripple in the pond" of the broader U.S. economy.

Apple last week announced plans for a $1 billion fund to help bolster advanced manufacturing in the U.S.

Tim Cook, the chief executive of the tech giant, made the announcement during an interview on CNBC. The New York Times reports that the company plans to announce the fund's first investment later this month.

Cook suggested that that targeting advanced manufacturing — which comprises high-tech jobs in sectors such as the auto industry, aerospace, energy and medical equipment — would help the fund be a "ripple in the pond" of the broader U.S. economy.

“Those manufacturing jobs create more jobs around them because you have a service industry that builds up around them," Cook told the network.

The tech giant took some political heat in recent years because its flagship devices and gadgets are largely built in China and other nations. The fund also amounts to a tiny fraction of the $257 billion in cash reported by Apple — the world's most valuable public company — in its latest quarterly results.

Cook's announcement also coincided with the launch of an Apple website touting its growth from about 5,000 U.S. employees in 1998 to 80,000 today. The expansion, the Times noted, was largely due to the growth of its retail network.

More in Operations