“The pledge by Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook to invest in making Mac computers in the U.S. will probably create about 200 jobs if he follows the pattern of companies such as Lenovo Group Ltd. and LG Chem Ltd.,” Jeff Green, Adam Satariano and Peter Burrows report for Bloomberg.
“Cook, who took over from Steve Jobs last year, said in an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek that Apple will work with partners on the project and put in at least $100 million of its own money. Outside involvement may increase the total,” Green, Satariano and Burrows report. “The investment ‘sounds like a 200-job operation with about a million-unit output,’ said Dan Luria, a labor economist at Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center in Plymouth, Michigan, who studies factory operations. Apple will probably rely on tax breaks and other incentives for the facility, he said.”
Green, Satariano and Burrows report, “Foxconn Technology Group, the Chinese maker of Apple’s iPhone and other products, is a likely partner on the Mac investment, said Michael Hasler, associate academic director for the Supply Chain Management Center of Excellence at the University of Texas, a state where Apple already has operations.”
Read more in the full article here.
Related articles:
Apple’s ‘Made in USA’ computer likely to be Mac Pro – December 8, 2012
Apple’s return of Mac production to U.S. next year to go well beyond mere assembly – December 7, 2012
Why Apple is bringing manufacturing back to the United States – December 6, 2012
Apple CEO Tim Cook announces plans to manufacture Macs in USA; says TV is ‘area of intense interest’ inside Apple – December 6, 2012
I think Apple will assemble Macs that do not have a built-in LCD display at this location.
I think the authors are full of sh*t. That’s one machine every 20 seconds per employee. Unless the assembly is highly automated/robotic it’s just not happening that way.
That could be the final ingredient that allows Apple to bring manufacturing back to the US.
Perhaps you are thinking that there will be just one assembly line and very very fast people working on it. Maybe it is possible to have many lines with robotic equipment doing the assembly and 200 people maintaining it.
Of course they don’t know – only Apple knows. They are simply guessing.
My guess is that Apple will create a highly automated robotic assembly plant and will move away from relying on vast numbers of relatively unskilled workers.
They will then use the knowledge acquired from that process to repeat the same sort of operation on a bigger scale elsewhere and then continue scaling up the process for further products. Those robotic assembly plants could be located virtually anywhere in the world, either for economic, political or logistic reasons and it might make sense to have more than one plant making popular products so that production continuity can be maintained if unpredictable events happen ( freak weather, political unrest, transport disruption etc ).
Having a mostly automated production facility would also have the added benefit of reducing the likelihood of spy shot product leaks. Won’t eliminate the chance 100% but still, a good thing for the Apple marketing team
Why wouldn’t it be highly automated/robotic? We are talking about a brand new manufacturing facility built by Apple in 2013 in America. I expect it to be the most automated/robotic facility of it’s kind in the world.
They surely aren’t manufacturing in America for cheap human labor.
Everyone’s a fucking expert… (Rolls eyes).
And I think you meant to say that:
“Everyone is an expert…”
Better, right?
“Everyone is a fucking expert.” is better. “313c is a sanctimonious prick” is even better.
right?
Juvenile.
fuck off.
I am so sorry that your Tourette’s is acting up again. I hope today is better for you.
Any day I am not exposed to your sanctimonious digital masturbation is a better day for all of mankind.
Amen, brother!
Jack Walsh has serious doubt about this. All part of lame stream media plot to get Obama a third term.
Because Jack Walsh believes in hiring Communist slave labor to maximise profits that flow directly to the top. By the way, you’re an idiot
here, here 1
Where? Where?
There, there wolf.
Can you say “stimlus spending?”
Well, it’s 200 more jobs than are there now. It’s a start.
200 jobs.
Does that include plant drivers, custodians, building maintenance, cafeteria employees, security, restaurants and cafes and coffee shops nearby which will serve the employees directly employed at the plant, cab drivers, bus drivers, road maintenance crews, etc., etc., etc.?
Yes it does. Now STFU etc. etc.
I believe Apple will partner with 3rd party to open up plant in the US’s southern states such as Texas where there are less union thugs influences and the low labor cost.
I bet Tim Cook is probably disgusted with all the leaks of upcoming products coming out of China and this would be one way to put a stop to that.
Oh please, the company executive who’s saying “200 jobs” is from Flextronics. Remember them?
They’re the ones who got in trouble with Apple for leaking secrets just last year and whose executive pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of security fraud.
Why can’t the media get someone a little more trustworthy and less conflicted?
200 jobs or 200 Jobs? Big difference
Hmmm. A new plant that is going to create 200 new Jobs. Would they all be called Steve?
Maybe this is apple’s first step into manufacturing, the one area that Samsung has a distinct advantage. Having complete manufacturing control over the non commoditized components(processors, displays, etc.) would help to reduce supply constraints & improve margins so this would seem like a great way to use its cash hoard on. Though this will not be an easy task to undertake. Horace Dedui’s latest article seems to be alluding to this next move for apple. If apple were able to pull this off in the next few years, where would all the FUD stories target :)?
The MacPro, or similar Tower workstation, could be made on a very automated assembly line domestically. A few large contract manufacturers in China are investing in the same manufacturing process technologies. The idea is to assemble machines using robotic machines. From what I’ve seen it will require several groups of people with experience in Mechatronics to successfully design and automate several assembly lines. There would be significant savings in shipping costs domestically, probably a few tax breaks, the ability to better control quality, respond faster to custom orders demand, and even to modify existing components on demand. The benefits list is much longer than I or most people could fully understand, but its possible and its a start.