Apple has said it plans to hire about 20,000 people over the next four years as part of a more than $500 billion US investment commitment.
The "vast majority" of the new hires would focus on AI, silicon engineering, R&D, and software development, the tech giant said Monday.
The package — which Apple said is its largest-ever spending commitment — also includes plans to open a new manufacturing facility in Houston and double its Advanced Manufacturing Fund from $5 billion to $10 billion.
Apple said it's set to open the 250,000-square-foot advanced manufacturing facility in Houston next year to produce servers for Apple Intelligence, the company's generative AI product.
"We are bullish on the future of American innovation, and we're proud to build on our long-standing U.S. investments with this $500 billion commitment to our country's future," Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a statement.
Apple's plan to add 20,000 jobs comes at a time when many large tech companies have been reducing their workforces. While it made some layoffs last year, it has not made large-scale cuts similar to companies like Meta, which earlier this month began cutting 5% of its workforce — equivalent to about 3,600 roles.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives welcomed the move by Apple on Monday, writing in a research note that this appeared to be a "a strategic move" by Cook to "continue diversifying its manufacturing strategy in both the US and globally."
Apple has come under pressure in recent years to diversify its supply chain, with the vast majority of its iPhones and other products being manufactured and assembled in China.
That pressure has only grown since the start of President Donald Trump's second term, with the threat of increasingly aggressive tariffs on China threatening to hurt Apple's business, where it generated $66.9 billion in its last fiscal year.
"Cook continues to prove that he is 10% politician and 90% CEO and times like this he will be using his strong ties globally to make sure its smoother waters for Cupertino ahead despite the market agita around AAPL's growth initiatives with Trump heading down the tariff threat path," Ives wrote in a research note.
Trump posted on Truth Social, saying Apple was announcing the investment because of "FAITH IN WHAT WE ARE DOING, WITHOUT WHICH, THEY WOULD'NT BE INVESTING TEN CENTS. THANK YOU TIM COOK AND APPLE!!!"
Apple made a similar announcement in Trump's first term in the White House. In 2021, it committed to making $430 billion in investments in the US and creating 20,000 jobs over the next five years.
