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Apple Allocates Initial Manufacturing Funding To Glass Supplier

Corning will receive $200 million from the tech giant's new $1 billion advanced manufacturing fund.

One of Apple's suppliers will be the first recipient of funds from its new advanced manufacturing initiative.

The tech giant announced last week that Corning Inc. would receive $200 million from its new $1 billion fund to bolster high-tech manufacturing in the U.S.

Apple said that the funding would support research and development, capital investment and innovative glass production methods. The award will focus on the Corning facility in Harrodsburg, Ky., that produced glass screens for Apple's mobile devices for the past decade.

"We’re extremely proud of our collaboration over the years and we are investing further with Corning who has such a rich legacy of innovative manufacturing practices," Apple Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams said in a statement.

Apple long received scrutiny for building most of its gadgets overseas; the manufacturing fund announced early this month coincided with the debut of new website touting its 80,000-employee domestic workforce.

The company said in the announcement last week that it supports 2 million jobs across all 50 states, including 450,000 jobs connected to its spending with U.S.-based suppliers.

Corning officials said that its partnership with Apple led to "significant glass innovations" that benefitted consumers and created "nearly 1,000 American jobs."

β€œThis investment will ensure our plant in Harrodsburg remains a global center of excellence for glass technology," said Corning CEO Wendell Weeks.

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