Trump Says Apple's Tim Cook Has Promised Him He'd Build Three US Factories: 'Big, Big, Big' (cnbc.com)

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Apple CEO Tim Cook has committed to build three big manufacturing plants in the U.S., a surprising statement that would help fulfill his administration's economic goal of reviving American manufacturing. From a report: Apple CEO Tim Cook called Trump to share that the iPhone-maker would do more manufacturing domestically, Trump told WSJ. "I spoke to [Mr. Cook], he's promised me three big plants -- big, big, big," Trump was quoted as saying. Apple has already said that it would start a $1 billion fund to promote advanced manufacturing jobs in the United States. With its wide network of developers, Apple has already created two million jobs in the United States, according to Cook.

Comments

Re:grain of salt

[Goose In Orbit]

...and not one coal miner...

How about bringing in the off shore cash pile?

[mykepredko]

Saying that you're going to make a "big" factory doesn't mean anything as it will be years of site selection, environmental impact reports, etc.

If Mr. Cook wanted Apple to show that they cared about the countries they do business in as well as make an immediate impact, they would stop offshoring their profits and pay taxes on them in the country they made the money.

Re:How about bringing in the off shore cash pile?

[MightyMartian]

Not to mention that the factory will be heavily automated, meaning the number of jobs that it actually provides will be relatively insignificant. Trump made a lot of promises to blue collar workers that the march of technology render unkeepable. Even if somehow magically coal recovers, the number of people employed would be a fraction of the number employed a quarter century ago, and of course, coal isn't coming back, so it's really an academic question.

It would be nice if a political candidate would go to a town hall meeting in the Rust Belt or in coal country and say "Look, I sympathize with you, and the loss of your jobs to other countries is a sad, but inevitable consequence of the changes of manufacturing that have occurred over the last thirty years. The fact is that even if new factories/mines are built tomorrow, the overwhelming majority of you will not be rehired, and it is likely that many of you who are currently employed will lose your jobs, or, at best, will retire and those positions deemed redundant. It's time to move on from a 20th century economy, and I commit to bringing economic development into your region, into job retraining, and making your lives more affordable."

But no, all these regions get is a lot of blowhards shouting how somehow they have the magic power to turn back time (and it isn't just the Republicans).

Re:grain of salt

[jellomizer]

Well it was their fault making fun of the nerds in middle school.

You piss me off, I automate your job away.

Re:grain of salt

[93 Escort Wagon]

All higher-profile entities make these sorts of claims. Large companies like Apple or Boeing or Walmart; sports franchises; even public universities like the one which employs me - they all claim that their presence in a local economy adds tens of thousands of ancillary jobs and introduces millions or billions of additional dollars into the local and/or regional economy. Usually when they do it, they're lobbying for tax breaks ("we'll build our new factory here if")... but it is also perfect fodder for politicians.

In my local (Puget Sound) area: Given the number of Seattle-area jobs, direct or ancillary, which are claimed to be due to the mere presence of Boeing, Amazon, U of W, etc. - I guess we're each unknowingly working full time at four or five places and spending hundreds of thousands of dollars every year. That's the only way the numbers could possibly work..

Re:Trump is a child

[wonkey_monkey]

What I love is how in every shot I've seen of him either walking to or from a helicopter, he claps his hands together as if his (not very) inner toddler is going "Yaaay, hewicoptah!"