Apple Touts US Supplier Employment, $60B In Spending

Apple said it spent $60 billion with 9,000 different parts suppliers and American companies last year, an increase of about 10 percent from 2017. This move, the company said, supported an estimated 450,000 jobs.

The company released the news on Monday (Jan. 28), and it highlighted quite a few organizations. One of them was Kentucky firm Corning, which makes the glass for Apple’s phones and iPads. Companies like Skyworks in Massachusetts, Qorvo in Oregon and Broadcom in Colorado all contribute wireless communications parts.

A company called Finisar in Texas helps Apple with lasers that allow the company’s products to recognize faces.

“The plant will produce vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers — or VCSELs — for Apple, powering breakthrough features of the latest iPhones and iPads, including Face ID and Animoji,” Apple said of the technology. “VCSEL wafers are nearly as thin as a human hair and contain hundreds of layers measuring only a few atoms in thickness. They require a highly advanced and precise manufacturing operation, as well as skilled technicians with specialized training.”

Another company called Cincinnati Test Systems produces a technology that helps to keep iPhones resistant to water.

Apple has lately been cultivating an image combatting the notion that all of its products — or the majority of them — are made in China, according to a report by CNBC.

Apple CEO Tim Cook recently said he didn’t need to be pressured politically to add more American jobs because he’s already been doing so. Also, last year Apple announced that it was going to “repatriate” $350 billion in overseas money and contribute to the American economy, creating 20,000 jobs in the U.S.

“Since 2011, the total number of jobs created and supported by Apple in the United States has more than tripled — from almost 600,000 to 2 million across all 50 states,” Apple said.

In early January, Apple CEO Tim Cook wrote a letter to investors warning of lower revenues for Q1 and disappointing sales of new iPhones and Apple Watches.

Apple’s stock halted in after-hours trading right before the news, and shares dropped about 7 percent when it restarted trading 20 minutes later.

Apple had previously projected $89 to $93 billion in revenue, but Cook lowered that number to $84 billion. Gross margin was also lowered, to 38 percent from between 38 and 38.5 percent, according to a report by CNBC.