Apple To Move Manufacturing Back To The US

CEO says $100 million investment to restart American skills

Apple CEO Tim Cook has announced a line of Mac computers will be assembled in the US, beginning sometime in 2013. Apple will invest $100 million to make the move happen. Apple hasn't assembled a product in the US since the 1990s, according to ZDNet.

The manufacturing shift appears to be the first step in addressing the company's most-criticized element: its Foxconn plants in China, and their lackluster working conditions.

But Apple likely isn't leaving the world's largest manufacturer of electronic components. Instead, Foxconn will be expanding in the US. Foxconn spokesman Louis Woo told Businessweek the company is adjusting to customer demands.

Manufacturing products in the US will likely cut into Apple's profit margin, but not by much, according to a Business Insider analysis. But, as Cook tells NBC, Apple can't move all manufacturing back to the US. He said the issue isn't about price, it's about skills.

"Over time, there are skills that are associated with manufacturing that have left the United States," Cook said. "Not necessarily people, but the education system has just stopped producing that. It's a concerted effort to get them back."

Via Businessweek and ZDNet

Do you think Apple could set a trend on bringing manufacturing back to the US?

[Jeff_Woehrle]

The real question should be why Steve Jobs had to die before this happened. Corporate greed from a liberal darling?

These toys should have been made here from day one. And liberals should have been squealing about this 'outsourcing' all along.

[Capt_Morgan02]

Greed......from Steve Jobs? Naaaaaah,....couldn't have been that.
:)

[Cheenoguy]

Steve was asked about this. He said he had no problem paying more to have Americans make Apple products. The problem, according to Jobs, is that there weren't enough people with the skills needed to make them here. If I remember correctly he said one factory (the one that made the original iPhone, I believe) had 3,000+ engineers employed there. Corporate greed played a role, I'm sure, but we aren't churning out too many engineers here which contributes to the problem.

[Jeff_Woehrle]

@Cheenoguy Glad to see that we suddenly hatched a bunch of engineers. And shortly after Steve died. Imagine that.

[Zazziness]

Folks were outraged at the outsourcing. Why do you think they weren't? I haven't bought an Apple product since they moved manufacturing to China and that's a loooong time ago.

[MarkJM]

Hey now, I may just have to dump the PC altogether and switch to Apple. I would gladly pay a bit more knowing that my product was made in the USA. Good for Apple, I hope other companies grasp this concept. Screw China, bring the jobs back home.

[Cool_voter]

They are bringing a small plant in the us.. Why did they leave in the first place.
Write your own scrips and use Linux.
Apple is for the weak and stupid

[MarkJM]

@Cool_voter I'm a Windows guy myself, but if I need to buy a new computer, I would rather support the American Worker than some Chi-Com overseas. Besides iOS is not all that dissimilar from Windows, both can be learned quickly if you have some semblance of computer knowledge.

[Cool_voter]

@MarkJM apple and pc aren't similar at all. One is user friendly, one is script writing friendy...

What's funny is you don't seem to realize assembled in the us doesn't mean the parts were made here, it's all Chinese stuff, just glued together in the us. I promise your still funding china, they have the worlds supply of precious minerals and crystals used to make computer parts...

[MarkJM]

@Cool_voter Actually, Apple components are originally made in the US, then shipped to China, assembled, then shipped back to the States. Apple is simply cutting China out of the picture. Apparently I seem to realize a lot more than you at this moment. You should take the time to read a thing or two, you may actually keep up for once...

[DerivePI]

"Sony, because caucasians are too damn tall."

[MRMacrum]

I don't give credit to Apple for "starting a trend" here. They are following a trend that began at least two years ago. Many US based companies have re-thought their use of Chinese factories and work force. Pratt Whitney has stopped using at least one plant in China making some of their jet parts. Otis elevator ( along with Pratt a part of United Technologies) is back in the US, Buck Knives, and Catepillar are a few of the US companies who have already returned some jobs to the US. While Apple might garner the limelight, this trend has been ongoing now for at least 2 years......

I do agree though that in order for the US to bring more jobs back, we need to re-train in a big way. The old school ways of manufacturing are gone and have been gone a long time. And being idiots when it comes to jobs creation, we have done nothing really worthwhile to bring our workforce up to speed.

[sabbatical]

US Government should move everything American back to the US

[MBernard]

Yeah, I forgot, this is a dictatorship.

[ir0nw0lfe]

Wonder if they will be starting up a new plant in a right to work state? If not, I would expect to see higher prices for that line of computers. Wonder how much buying American is going to be worth to consumers. Historically, not very much. Would be nice to America gain manufacturing jobs again. I truthfully think this is a very smart pr campaign to keep Apple on the right side of those wanting to Target the rich, greedy corporations. It gives Apple the out of saying , look we aren't the bad guys we just invested 100 million to bring jobs here. Look at those other greedy companies we are on your side. 100 million for that? Pretty smart investment to purchase public good will.

[Zazziness]

I think we as consumers should reward companies which manufacture in the U.S. by choosing their products over their competitors. That's the free market in action -- the consumer is supposed to be in control of it, so control it wisely.

[Dan_Tien]

If the majority of people thought that way, then Wal-Mart would not be as successful as it is.

[Zazziness]

@Dan_Tien And the American economy would not be in the crapper.

[Denizen_Kate]

We as consumers purchase what we can afford, and for many, that's Walmart where everything is made in China. I bought a car made in SC because at the time, I could afford a BMW, and I also try to buy shoes and clothing made here, but they are getting difficult to find and are always more expensive. If Apple follows through on this, then perhaps my next computer will be a MacBook.

[Zazziness]

@Denizen_Kate "What we can afford..." It's funny, though. Just looking at a price sticker doesn't tell us the cost, does it? If we don't account for the fact that every dollar we send overseas weakens our economy, then something may look cheap but, in reality, its real cost is VERY high.

[Denizen_Kate]

@Zazziness - That's a good point. I'll keep it in mind on my next (extremely rare) shopping trip.

[PoliticalSpice]

The issue, as the article makes clear, is that the u.s. fail to educate enough people. Which explains why fox news is number 1. A right to work state? China is the very working condsions a right to work state would have if it weren't for federal laws setting some minimal standards.

[DyingBreed]

Hey, that's great! I might actually save up and get one because of that. There is just something great about being able to buy something with a stamp on it that says "Made in the U.S.A."

[Thunderchicken]

"Over time, there are skills that are associated with manufacturing that have left the United States," Cook said. "Not necessarily people, but the education system has just stopped producing that. It's a concerted effort to get them back."

An indictment of the education system if ever I've heard one.

[FFX_VA]

Apple is one of the most greedy companies out there, they exploit American consumers & Chinese workers. At least they're fair & balanced in that respect.

It's costs Apple $165.50 to make a 16GB iPhone 5, but they sell it for $649 (unsubsidized cost). Their new cables have an authentication chip in them do you can only buy one from Apple (until its reverse engineered). That was done out of pure profit greed.

Building in the US is a good move but it's only a tiny fraction of their manufacturing. I think they should at least build-up capability in the Americas, help our neighbors to the south develop strong economies instead of sending all the work to China. Who btw is our #1 military threat in the Pacific.

K, I'm done ranting about those damn 1%'rs @ Apple.:)

[Mbjhug]

The worst part is prices are going to go up (how much, not sure but this IS Apple we are talking about....) and people will STILL buy it, just because it has that damned Apple on the back of the phone/tablet/computer. Jobs was a greedy and arrogant bitch, too. His cockiness was so bad, co-founder of Apple Steve Wozniak decided he wasn't going into business with Jobs, after starting from the ground up by making the computers in their garage, AND knowing they had a multi-billion dollar industry on their hands.

Sorry, I just get up and arms when people praise Jobs for excellence when in reality he was just the douchiest douche that ever douched this side of Douchville.

[tomincali]

all American companies should produce here and hire only citizens.

[RobertJHarsh]

There should have been a "maybe" option, but I chose yes. If Apple starts bringing back manufacturing to the US then other companies could follow. Apple might be catching hell from the govt over there and it hasn't gone public yet. But expect the cost of your fashionable trinkets to go up.

[Denizen_Kate]

"Over time, there are skills that are associated with manufacturing that have left the United States," Cook said. Well, Tim, how do you suppose that happened? Could it possibly be because Apple and so many other American corporations began taking their manufacturing overseas decades ago? Doesn't it follow that if manufacturing jobs don't exist, our schools would not train us for them? File that under "Duh."

[Dan_Tien]

" He said the issue isn't about price, it's about skills." This is pure BS. When Intel first opened its assembly plant in Oregon, they hired people with no more than a high school diploma. Now they require a 4 year degree or equivalent military electronic experience in order to get hired to work in a fab. My experience was that none of my electronics training was really necessary to do my job. The company trained us for whatever specialized knowledge we needed. It is not really that a person needs all that education in order to monitor robots doing their jobs, it's about winnowing down the applicants in an attempt to get the best. It didn't really work in my opinion because I ended up working with quite a few educated fools who had never really worked a day in their life. The most dependable guys were the veterans.

[Buzzfriendly]

This is an excellent start but more could be done. We need to do more than just assemble the parts, we need to make them as well. The integrated circuit was invented by two Americans, Robert Joyce and Jack Kilby, and America was the first to manufacture them. There is no reason we can't return to our roots on this.

[Buzzfriendly]

Correction Robert Noyce not Joyce.

[whataGOVwehave]

Yes...it might get me to buy more products.

[KyleMFb]

I sure do hope so iv been sick and tired of things being made in china before it was fashionable I wish everything was made in America by Americans there's nothing that can come close to the quality of American made goods and besides the only people to blame for the rise of china is American CEOs so if America ever crumbles it will because of greedy Americans

[FollowTheMoney]

Man, I hope so. I will become an instant Apple fan.