Apple to create 20,000 US jobs to shield operations against tariffs

Posted by author February 24, 2025 Jobs

The tech giant plans to spend $500 billion (€477.50bn) in the country over the next four years, bolstering domestic production as more tariffs loom.

Apple on Monday announced that it would hire 20,000 new workers in the US over the next four years, part of a push to bolster its domestic operations.

The tech giant also said it would open a new manufacturing plant in Houston,Texas, by 2026, and that it would create a supplier academy in Michigan.

Other states including Nevada, California, and Arizona will see further investment, part of a total funding package of $500bn (€477.50bn)

“We are bullish on the future of American innovation, and we’re proud to build on our long-standing US investments,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a statement.

“We’ll keep working with people and companies across this country to help write an extraordinary new chapter in the history of American innovation,” he added.

Apple’s statement added that the “US Advanced Manufacturing Fund”, which has previously been used to make glass for iPhones in Kentucky, would be doubled.

The funding would increase from $5bn to $10bn, it said.

Trade tariffs

Monday’s announcement comes just days after Cook met US President Donald Trump at the White House, and it mirrors a similar investment pledge made during the President’s first term.

In 2018, Apple said it would invest $350bn in the US economy over five years.

Also preceding Monday’s announcement, Trump introduced a 10% additional levy on imported Chinese goods.

This is where Apple makes the majority of its products, making the firm particularly vulnerable to trade barriers.

The tech giant managed to secure some tariff waivers during Trump’s first term, although it’s not yet clear whether this will be true this time around.

In the President’s first sitting, Cook notably argued that a tariff on Apple imports would benefit competitors like South Korea’s Samsung.

Semiconductor supplies

Some chips used by Apple are also made overseas and could be hit by a proposed 25% tariff on semiconductor imports.

Apple announced last month that it was ramping up production of chips for the iPhone in an Arizona factory, owned by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC).