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Apple Announces $500 Billion US Investment Plan, To Hire 20,000 People (yahoo.com) 111

Posted by msmash from the breaking-news dept.
Apple said it planned to hire an additional 20,000 staff in the US over the next four years as part of a $500 billion American investment plan. Financial Times: The $500 billion figure [non-paywalled source], spread over Trump's second term in office, includes regular spending on thousands of US suppliers, data centres and corporate facilities, as well as new initiatives such as an academy in Michigan "to train the next generation of US manufacturers." Apple will also open a manufacturing facility in Houston to build servers that can support its artificial intelligence ambitions.
President Trump "implied that the iPhone maker is investing locally because it does not want to pay tariffs," reports Bloomberg. They add pointedly that Apple "didn't say whether the new investments were already underway before Trump's win."

Apple Announces $500 Billion US Investment Plan, To Hire 20,000 People More | Reply

Apple Announces $500 Billion US Investment Plan, To Hire 20,000 People

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  • Investments (Score:5, Insightful)

    by fluffernutter ( 1411889 ) on Monday February 24, 2025 @06:56AM (#65190731)
    I have noticed a trend. It seems that good news lines like this get reported by all media (meaning right and left wing) but then the right will get bored and move onto the next thing. The 'left wing' media will follow it and discover that 20k employees really turned into 5k employees plus a whole bunch of ghost openings, and that those employees were actually contractors or H-1Bs. The few Americans who actually got hired were for mediocre pay. The right wing may end up getting whiffs of this, but then Trump will get up on his podium and remind people that only the right wing media tells the truth and all the other media is fake news and they will blindly accept it along with hearing how helping the Palestinians by moving them all to a new wonderful place is going so very well and the Ukraine is about to accept the very best deal made to them because how can they turn it down.
    • We are going into a recession. There's absolutely no stopping that now. The ridiculous amount of government spending cuts alone would be enough to drive us into a recession. Not to mention all the chaos created by it. People do not realize how integral to their daily lives the US government is because you're taught to think of yourself as some sort of Uber individual. Trump is fucking with systems that are fundamental to our food supply for Christ's sake.

      Also the tariffs combined with the trillions of do
      • Except the last time the inflation was global, so there was a lot of room to blame global market forces. It will be interesting this time because the US may experience inflation while there is a glaring contrast to other countries. I expect Trump will have to explain to his followers that things are worse in Canada and we will be overtaken any time now and they will lap it up.

        • Keep in mind he tells his followers that socialism doesn't work and fails everywhere its tried, except for strong contrary examples in Europe. His followers eat this up, since they a) don't know what socialism is, and b) don't have the desire and/or money to see the world.

          And hey, by just agreeing to do whatever Pooty wants to do, I'm not convinced the rest of the world isn't going to suffer in bespoke ways while we undergo staglfation.

          • The world may have lost the US as a customer but every country has every other country to sell to. There will be some rough spots but it will work out for them. On the other hand, Trump is handicapping the ability of any American to buy from any one else in the world. The US has very few minerals, very little water, and not much manufacturing. It is difficult to see any large amount of manufacturing from coming there since that is an endeavor that would take longer than the time that Trump has remaining

          • Keep in mind he tells his followers that socialism doesn't work and fails everywhere its tried, except for strong contrary examples in Europe.

            If they're so strong, why not name them? Though I get the distinct feeling that you're going to list off a bunch of Scandinavian countries that are very much market driven. Likely because you don't even know what defines socialism.

      • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

        by gtall ( 79522 )

        It is a bit worse, all it will take is one more national disaster and two tools the U.S. government uses to fight those either are or are going to be knackered: FEMA and the CDC. The former will be unable to respond to hurricanes. The latter is used to coordinate responses to epidemics including disease outbreaks. The former la Presidenta agreed with himself that they can be handled by the States. What will he do when Texas gets nailed? The latter will be made worse because of the addled fellow he put in ch

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by Iamthecheese ( 1264298 )
        The federal government should not be a jobs program. That's broken window economics and it doesn't work. You're taking money from some people and giving it to others and saying, "See? I created wealth!" Infrastructure and education are different but you're not advocating for those jobs, you're complaining that jobs that don't actually accomplish anything are being cut.
        • America pays three times more for healthcare than Canada because of that attitude, yet only 40% of Americans are confident they will be taken care of if they get seriously ill. Recently some privatization has crept in in Canada and it has been found that it is costing us millions. Private clinics in Alberta are costing us twice as much as public clinics. There are people all over Canada complaining that private clinics cheaped out and gave them minimum cataract treatments with the least chance of long te
          • You're putting words in my mouth by arguing against what I didn't say. I support single payer health care. That doesn't mean I think we should keep unproductive government workers. Single payer health care? Yes. That, but including an extra 20,000 workers to fill out congressional district "jobs" programs? No. As for public vs private work that's a whole separate argument.
            • Then point to any example where private services have been better and less expensive than public. It never happens. Also prove that you aren't getting good value from those government employees rather than parroting the tired line of how useless they are. What is Musk cutting that you didn't need? Pandemic preparedness? Nuclear monitoring? The CIA? The FBI? Traffic safety? Monitoring for meteor threats and learning about space? He is doing it under the guise of cost cutting but the truth is you wi
              • >point to any example where private services have been better and less expensive than public

                Grocery stores, auto repair, day care, schools, space launch, making ceramic plates, Hell, even propaganda.

                >Also prove that you aren't getting good value from those government employees rather than parroting the tired line of how useless they are.

                We can argue all day about specific programs that are being cut but that's a different topic. My initial point is that employing people to be employing people is a

                • Grocery stores, auto repair, day care, schools, space launch, making ceramic plates, Hell, even propaganda.

                  Ok please list when each of those things was done publicly under capitalism so we can compare. Shit, a grocery store that didn't sponge off for profit someone every time they bought a loaf of bread would be great. Maybe at one time there were many small players competing against each other and that produced downward pressure on prices, but it is well known during the last bought of inflation the grocery stores were actually increasing their prices more than inflation.

                  • >Ok please list when each of those things was done publicly under capitalism so we can compare

                    I didn't say they were. You asked for things that have been done better privately so I gave you one. As for "done publicly under capitalism" that's a red herring, there has never been a purely communist national economy. But I know you're not trying to claim governments should sell groceries. Well, at least I'm assuming you're not a complete and total moron.
              • Man, if gov jobs and gov services are such a good thing, why did the CCCP fail so miserably?
                • lol- are you truly that stupid?

                  If 64-bit computing was such a good thing, why did DEC fail so miserably?

                • Feel free to stop using socialized transport (public roads, airports) and socialized safety services (fire, police, EMTs) if gov jobs and gov services suck so bad.

                  Show us how your sovereign life would be so much better please.

                  • Feel free to stop using socialized transport (public roads, airports) and socialized safety services (fire, police, EMTs) if gov jobs and gov services suck so bad.

                    Many of the services you quote are run by states and/or regional localities, not the federal government. And even then, issues abound. The California wildifres were made substantially worse due to budget cuts in the fire department: https://www.nbclosangeles.com/... [nbclosangeles.com]

                    Although I concur that state level government is far more effective at being ef

            • Re: (Score:2, Troll)

              by DamnOregonian ( 963763 )
              The jobs programs- ignoring your fallacious reduction of their effect- aren't really what's being cut.
              It's the workers that keep the Organs of State operating.

              The fallout of this is all over the news, and it's pretty comical.
              Nevermind that it's being conducting by a group of people who have demonstrated that they're not qualified to run a website or interpret data in any analytical way, much less make decisions that matter to anyone.

              Musk and his Spy Kids team have demonstrated that they: Can't operate

            • Re: Yeah this is about what I'm expecting (Score:4)

              by ItsJustAPseudonym ( 1259172 ) on Monday February 24, 2025 @12:52PM (#65191851)

              That That doesn't mean I think we should keep unproductive government workers.doesn't mean I think we should keep unproductive government workers.

              Unproductive? Determining "productivity" is an analytical process. These assclowns are not doing any analysis. They are stumbling around and shutting down entire programs due to one goal, which is to be able to *claim* that they have "saved money". They are being "penny wise and pound foolish", as the saying goes. They are creating wreckage and claiming success.

            • That doesn't mean I think we should keep unproductive government workers.

              Unproductive workers like the National Nuclear Security Agency that secures nuclear weapon refurbishment, design, and manufacturing?

              Unproductive workers like the NIH and USDA researchers trying to get ahead of an increasingly scary bird flu outbreak that is now also cow flu and cat flu because it's crossing species?

              Unproductive workers like the Department of Energy people working to clean up radioactive waste in leaky underground tanks in Hanford, otherwise known as the legacy of nuclear weapons manufacturi

            • You're putting words in my mouth by arguing against what I didn't say. I support single payer health care. That doesn't mean I think we should keep unproductive government workers. Single payer health care? Yes. That, but including an extra 20,000 workers to fill out congressional district "jobs" programs? No. As for public vs private work that's a whole separate argument.

              We (i.e, 100% of us) are for removing unproductive and unnecessary workers. The only disagreement is in deciding which of the workers should be removed. We're actually not that smart. Think tanks, MBAs, six sigma blackbelts, McKinsey, et al. notwithstanding, we don't know how to approach this holy grail of ultimate efficiency. Musk and DOGE have absolutely no idea. They're just swinging out at political opponents and the weak people who can't protect themselves.

              Single payer may not be a panacea, but it

          • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

            by registrations_suck ( 1075251 )

            America pays three times more for healthcare than Canada because of that attitude, yet only 40% of Americans are confident they will be taken care of if they get seriously ill.

            I wonder why it is that people from all around the world come to the U.S. for healthcare, instead of going right next door to Canada.

            • That happens with some people who have the money to spend on it and that is for small routine things. I have yet to hear of anyone going to the US for major things like heart surgery or cancer treatment. The American systems makes things like x-rays and scans more available so people with money go down there to skip the line. Meanwhile people come up here to have their children so I would say it balances out.
            • Again, you don't seem to understand that you're cases are only representative of people with money which is a small population. I'm taking about the other 99%.

            • Re: (Score:3)

              by Pascoea ( 968200 )

              I wonder why it is that people from all around the world come to the U.S. for healthcare, instead of going right next door to Canada.

              Because people with the ability to pay for it can afford to? Because if you have enough greenbacks you can absolutely get some of the best medical care on the planet here. Do you know who CAN'T afford to travel internationally for healthcare, or have the ability to write checks to cover 10s of thousands of dollars? Just about everybody.

            • Yup - I am sure glad Covid got me stuck in Europe. If I was back in Canada, I would have died waiting for my cancer diagnosis. Here I got diagnosed, treated and cured and it cost me almost nothing - the insurance cost is minimal.

            • I wonder why it is that people from all around the world come to the U.S. for healthcare, instead of going right next door to Canada.

              Because they can afford to fly to another country and pay out of pocket.

              Conversely as a US citizen I can go to Mexico or Thailand for a weekend for dental work and the total would still cost less than domestic care.

              • Conversely as a US citizen I can go to Mexico or Thailand for a weekend for dental work and the total would still cost less than domestic care.

                It would. But your probability of dying of an infection, being withheld critical care while dying, being kidnapped, or murdered are all higher.
                There are significant pros and cons there. Note, this should not be taken as a defense for our bullshit healthcare system.
                Only that traveling to places with severely corrupt healthcare industries may not be totally analogous in the price comparison.

          • America pays three times more for healthcare than Canada because of that attitude

            The reason for that has nothing at all to do with one or even several people's attitudes, the primary reason is because we overpay for physicians, hospitals, and drugs. When insurance companies and even medicare try to crack down on that, you tend to see populist pushback.

        • If private industry refuses to increase production because they are chasing short-term profits or using anticompetitive tactics to increase shareholder value instead of competing honestly then the government should step in.

          If you are on this forum you are a direct beneficiary of that process and policy. Because you are probably over 45 years old and you had a fuck ton of government help that you're pretending wasn't there.

          Government is nothing more than people getting together to do what private ind

        • That's broken window economics and it doesn't work.

          Fallacious argument.

          Consider, if you will, that the jobs in the US federal government improve the efficiency of the economy as a whole- like a turbocharger.

          "Jobs that don't actually accomplish anything" is a subjective assessment, and frankly, you've already shown that you lack highschool reasoning skills, so I'm not sure you should be trusted to evaluate that.

          • Consider, if you will, that the jobs in the US federal government improve the efficiency of the economy as a whole- like a turbocharger.

            The federal government is made up of multiple agencies, it's not a homogeneous entity. If you've ever seen that show the G word, they make a pretty stark comparison between the FDIC and FEMA.

            • Yup- wasn't implying otherwise. Wasn't my intention to say that government employees were universally a net positive, only that one cannot say they're universally a net drain- pointing out the fallacy in the argument that they represented a broken window fallacy.

              For example, the turbocharger.
              Mass added to an engine that increases fuel consumption, increases backpressure, reduces pumping efficiency, but improves overall efficiency because the largest factor in the efficiency of the Otto cycle is the compr

              • The main thing they were looking at was how effective the FDIC was at its job, and how ineffective FEMA was at its job.

                • I haven't seen The G Word (but I'll check it out)... but I'd love to see someone figure out how and why FEMA is a pile of dog shit.

          • Consider, if you will, that the jobs in the US federal government improve the efficiency of the economy as a whole- like a turbocharger.

            Super debatable. Take for instance those employed in the tech sector where there is a substantial shortage. One could argue relocating those workers from a govt position where they're borderline useless to an AI supporting role in some up and coming private business could be a net gain on the turbocharge effect. And the dollar gains coming from federal budget savings in

        • The federal government should not be a jobs program.

          Even with the federal government being a massive employer, you've still got a multitude of private companies paying shitty unlivable wages. Do you honestly think that situation is going to improve with a glut of unemployed labor added to the mix?

          The point of taking money through a progressive taxation scheme and redistributing it through government-provided work is because the free market failed to create a system that works for everyone. Plus, it's still more ideal than paying people to just sit on their

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

        I assumed it was off the back of some free money promises. Some tax breaks, a grant or three. Some good news for Trump to tout, and Tim Apple's next bonus secured even with the recession looming.

      • If you are able to plan over timeframes longer than three quarters a recession is an excellent time for research spending, as well as construction. You can pick up labor and materials cheaper and won't have to compete with your own production in the short term.

        That is a load-bearing 'if', though. The median businessman has no idea how capitalism works and at the 90th percentile they are actively opposed.

      • We are going into a recession.

        We can add a 4th universal constant now. 4 things are certain: Death, Taxes, Dataloss, and that rsilvergun will crap on about recessions in literally any story on Slashdot.

        You used to have opinions, when did you turn into a copypasta troll?

        • Virtually every economist is saying that trumps policies will trigger massive inflation. You do realize this?

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by skam240 ( 789197 )

          You used to have opinions, when did you turn into a copypasta troll?

          Probably right around the time Trump started doing what seems to be everything he possibly can to cause a recession. You know, current events.

        • I'd rather ask the question: why are you denying what should be obvious to literally anyone with any understanding of macroeconomics?

          If you start adding tariffs to everything, you're adding inflation to everything. And what happens when inflation goes up? Central banks raise interest rates. And what happens when interest rates go up? Unemployment goes up. And what happens when unemployment goes up? GDP goes down. And if it goes down for two quarters in a row, that's a recession.

          We already have the in

    • Oh oh! Maga doesn't like what we said and is downvoting us. The first people who will complain if their right to free speech is violated. Just remember that.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by skam240 ( 789197 )

      ...and the Ukraine is about to accept the very best deal made to them because how can they turn it down.

      Look at Trump go, extorting wealth from a desperate people. What a proud day to be an American...

    • Not a bad FP and you make a good point, but the angle I'm looking for in the discussion is RoI. Just cancelling the easy zeros you get $500 million/20 = $25 million/job. This is NOT going to work out well for many people. NOT a scalable solution.

      Now off to search the discussion for Funny...

    • This is how Canada dealt with the potential tariffs too - count on the administration being stupid and totally ignorant of any existing plans, and just re-announce what you were doing anyway like it's some big win for the administration. Then they fuck off to go ruin something else and leave you alone.

      As far as "oh they're doing this because they don't want to pay tariffs" - until they build a smartphone factory in the US, it's not about the fucking tariffs as that's Apple's #1 product by a billion miles,

    • Your guesswork narrative doesn’t match empirical reality. Several studies show that too many left wing folks solely consume left wing media, causing them to form echo-chamber self-justifying circular-logic chains like yours (the “the right doesn’t follow up!”). While right wing folks consume a far broader spectrum of media from all sides,

      1. Political Polarization & Media Habits - 2014 Pew Research Center

      2. Social Media, News Consumption, and Polarization: Evidence from a Fi

      • While right wing folks consume a far broader spectrum of media from all sides,...

        1. Political Polarization & Media Habits - 2014 Pew Research Center

        The first study above (at least) doesn't seem to support the claim. To quote:

        Overall, the study finds that consistent conservatives: Are tightly clustered around a single news source, far more than any other group in the survey, with 47% citing Fox News as their main source for news about government and politics.

        ...

        By contrast, those with consistently liberal views: Are less unified in their media loyalty; they rely on a greater range of news outlets, including some – like NPR and the New York

  • Repeat! (Score:3)

    by methano ( 519830 ) on Monday February 24, 2025 @08:33AM (#65190927)
    This isn't a repeat story from /., its a repeat story from Apple. Seems like this was a big trend some time ago when they announced that the Mac Pro, that trashcan shaped one, was going to be made in the US of A. Lots of hoopla about that and how it would be the start of a return to America for manufacturing. Unfortunately, they only sold about 27 of those computers among many manufacturing problems and the story just withered away. Let's see how this goes. I suspect that the earlier poster (investments) is pretty accurate.

  • They were going to spend all of this money on these things anyway. This is just a marketing act to help Trump. Happens in politics on both sides all of the time.

  • makes another announcement. Wow. Frucking earthshaking.
    I have an idea, lets make the announcement, then drag our feet for a few years. Surely, we have to launch a study?
    When the results of the study are announced, we can make another announcement about the results.

    Current results? We have made an offering to the new King of The World.
    Hopefully, he'll ignore us now.

  • Historical Context (Score:5, Informative)

    by necro81 ( 917438 ) on Monday February 24, 2025 @10:35AM (#65191343) Journal
    It's not like U.S. Presidents haven't been trying. But here's some historical context

    from 2012:
    Steve Jobs to Obama [nytimes.com]: "those jobs aren't coming back".

    Apple eventually moved some Mac assembly to the States under Tim Cook. Fig leaf appeasement? Or flexible manufacturing [dartmouth.edu]?

    What manufacturing in Asia [nbcnews.com] provides that you can't get in the US. It's not just cheap labor, but being able to rouse 8,000 factory workers from their dorms at midnight [cnet.com] when the parts arrive.

    from 2016:
    What would an American-made iPhone cost [theringer.com]?

    A mature supply chain that's difficult to replicate in the U.S. [forbes.com]

    Trump wants Apple to make in the U.S. [theverge.com]. That totally worked last time. Who knows, maybe this time is different. Certainly Apple has the cash to burn. Or maybe it'll be more like Foxconn in Wisconsin.

  • I'm not a math guy .. buy 500 billion to 20,000 is just $25 million each. Something is fishy, like how San Francisco spends $1 billion a year to house a mere 4000 homeless people like sardines on bunk beds, 100 to a room.

    • *but

    • You aren't a math guy, and you clearly aren't anywhere adjacent to project management either, as you aren't accounting for any of:
      - land acquisition
      - construction
      - equipment purchasing
      - R&D costs
      - taxes, fees, permitting, "political contributions" to grease the wheels

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