Investments in manufacturing, the App Store economy, and 20,000 new employees
Apple has announced that it will be contributing $350 billion into the US economy over the next five years, combining both new investments and its existing spending with domestic companies for supply and manufacturing.
According to the company’s press release, the investments will concentrate on three areas: direct employment by Apple, spending and investment with Apple’s domestic suppliers and manufacturers, and the digital App Store economy.
That means that Apple isn’t just dropping $350 billion in cash into the US economy. It’s not entirely clear how Apple is reaching that number, but a lot of that money is just part of the company’s normal accounting for things like buying component parts and growing its digital software marketplace. According to Apple’s press release, just $75 billion of that total number will come from capital expenditures, new investments in manufacturing, and its repatriation tax payment, which could imply that the rest of the number is simply the effects of a company as large as Apple having its regular impact on the US economy through its normal growth and spending.
Apple CEO Tim Cook commented in the announcement that “We believe deeply in the power of American ingenuity, and we are focusing our investments in areas where we can have a direct impact on job creation and job preparedness. We have a deep sense of responsibility to give back to our country and the people who help make our success possible.”
Some of the new investment will come from repatriation taxes that Apple estimates to be roughly $38 billion, per the recent changes to the tax law passed late last year. As part of that reparation, the company will also bring $252 billion in cash back to the US. Apple also expects to invest over $30 billion in capital expenditures in the US in the aforementioned five year time span, and is also increasing its $1 billion US advanced manufacturing fund it announced last year to $5 billion.
Apple also is committing to creating over 20,000 new jobs over the course of the five year timespan, and announced plans for creation of a new campus in the US (which will house technical support staff, at least to start), with location to be announced at a later time.
