Apple announces $500bn investment in US and 20,000 new jobs over 4 years

WASHINGTON: Apple announced on Monday that it will spend over $500 billion in the United States over the next four years and hire 20,000 staff, with President Donald Trump swiftly taking credit for the announcement.

The Silicon Valley-based giant stated it was its "largest-ever spending commitment," which comes as tech companies battle for dominance in developing artificial intelligence technology.

Trump, who has urged US companies to shift manufacturing back home, claimed that his administration was responsible for the investment.

"The reason is faith in what we are doing, without which, they wouldn't be investing 10 cents. Thank you Tim Cook and Apple!" Trump wrote in capital letters on his Truth Social platform.

Apple stated that its 20,000 new hires would mainly focus on research and development, silicon engineering, software development, and AI and machine learning.

It announced plans to open a new manufacturing facility in Houston, Texas, in 2026, which will assemble servers that "play a key role in powering Apple Intelligence" — part of the company's AI products — and would create "thousands of jobs."

An Apple Manufacturing Academy in Detroit is also planned to "help companies transition to advanced manufacturing."

"We are bullish on the future of American innovation, and we're proud to build on our long-standing US investments with this $500 billion commitment to our country's future," Apple's CEO Tim Cook said in a statement.

Apple's suppliers already manufacture silicon in 24 factories across 12 states, including Arizona, Colorado, Oregon, and Utah.

Boosting spending

In January, Cook hailed Apple's "best quarter ever" as it recorded $36.3 billion in quarterly profits.

The Americas remained Apple's largest market with $56.2 billion in revenue, while Europe showed strong growth with $33.9 billion.

The company hopes that customers will be drawn to buy the latest iPhone models due to their new AI capabilities.

Along with Apple, other tech giants such as Google, Microsoft, and Amazon are convinced that generative AI's capabilities are the next chapter of computing and are increasing spending to avoid being left behind.

Monday's announcement comes days after Trump said that Apple plans to invest "hundreds of billions of dollars" in the United States as he celebrated the success of his tariff plan in boosting the American economy.

Trump suggested that more companies also planned greater investment in the United States, without giving any names.

The Republican president has used tariffs — customs duties on imported goods — as a trade weapon, imposing 10 percent levies on goods from China and threatening them on products including semiconductors, cars, and pharmaceuticals.

His administration argues that the higher costs will encourage companies to manufacture in the United States instead. Critics say that tariffs could raise prices for consumers.

By RSS/AFP