Apple CEO Tim Cook has announced in a new interview with Bloomberg and NBC that Apple is investing $100 million domestically to return some of the company’s manufacturing back to the United States.
Seeing as Apple does not own any manufacturing plants in the U.S., it will be partnering up with an unnamed company to help build up the local infrastructure. Cook stated that several new Macs will be built locally, starting in 2013.
This move is a significant shift from Apple’s traditional manufacturing based in China. In fact, Cook was one of the proponents that helped Apple move and streamline its manufacturing operations overseas. Seeing that Cook now wants to bring the jobs back home is a welcomed sign for our economy as Apple’s dollars will now be kept within the U.S. rather than being shipped overseas.
The move will be a strategic shift for Apple and one that you can bet many other companies will be watching closely. The big argument for shipping manufacturing jobs to China is cost savings. If Apple can prove that it can build products locally, for a competitive rate, we may see a shift in the entire market.
If Apple can make this work, besides the public image appeal, it could boost the recent trend of on-shoring for the U.S. market.