Apple Moving Manufacturing Back to the US

Apple had been criticized harshly from customers and activists regarding some of its manufacturing done overseas. CEO Tim Cook says it is now moving some of those jobs back home to the US.

Cook revealed this information in an interview on Rock Center with Brian Williams. He said that one of Apple’s Mac lines will start being manufactured in the United States in 2013. This comes after the announcement that iMac’s will be assembled in the US earlier this week.

Cook said instead of just assembling the products here in the US, which would have made the project happen quickly, they will be doing the entire process in the states. He said that Apple will be investing over $100 million. The company would not do everything themselves, but they would work with partners.

When asked about the effect on price, Cook said it wasn’t as much a matter of cost as it was of skill. There just aren’t as many people in the US with that type and level of skill. They aren’t being trained for that type of work in the states. This fact had already been stated by former Apple president, Steve Jobs, when he said that if schools educated engineers to oversee the manufacture of these products, they could move the process back to the US.

Some parts of Apple’s products are already made in the US. For instance, the motor of the iPhone is made in the US.  The glass on the display is also made in the states, in Kentucky, according to Cook in his interview.

In the past, Apple was reprimanded by the public for the working conditions of workers in worldwide factories that manufacture Apple products. In response, Apple hired independent investigators to look into the issues. They also ordered audits after several worker suicides prompted concern. Apple made some changes to how business was done in other countries, but many people will be glad to see them bringing some of it back to the US.

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