The China Mail - Apple says to invest $500 bn in US over four years, hire 20,000 staff

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

Trump, who has pushed US companies to shift manufacturing home, claimed that his administration was to thank for the investment.

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

Apple said its 20,000 new hires would mostly 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 that 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 on the cards 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 at $33.9 billion.

The company hopes that customers are attracted to buy the latest iPhone models by its new AI powers.

Along with Apple, other tech giants such as Google, Microsoft and Amazon are convinced that generative AI's powers are the next chapter of computing and are hiking 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 trumpeted 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 wielded 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.

I.Ko--ThChM