Apple CEO Tim Cook: 'How can we get more people to do advanced manufacturing in the United States?' (AAPL)

pulse

May 4, 2017 12:18 AM

"Because if we can create many manufacturing jobs around – those manufacturing jobs create more jobs around them"

Apple CEO Tim Cook.

President Donald Trump has put pressure on Apple to manufacture iPhones and other products in the United States. Currently, the vast majority of Apple products are assembled in Asia.

Apple isn't going to build iPhones stateside, but on Wednesday CEO Tim Cook announced that Apple plans to create a $1 billion fund to support advanced manufacturing in the united states.

"We asked ourselves, 'How can we get more people to do advanced manufacturing in the United States?' And I'm proud to tell you that we're creating an advanced manufacturing fund. We're initially putting $1 billion in the fund," Cook told CNBC's Jim Cramer.

Apple plans to announce the first investment in the fund later this month, Cook said. He did not provide any specific details about what exactly the fund would do to benefit US manufacturing.

"We're really proud to do it. And by doing that, we can be the ripple in the pond. Because if we can create many manufacturing jobs around – those manufacturing jobs create more jobs around them, because you have a service industry that builds up around them," Cook said.

Trump repeatedly talked about Apple while he was running for president, and at one point called for a boycott of the company.

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