Apple expands US manufacturing with new supplier partners

Apple is adding Bosch, Cirrus Logic, TDK, and Qnity Electronics to its American Manufacturing Program to make essential materials and components in the US for devices sold worldwide, and it said it will invest US$400 million in the new efforts through 2030.

The expanded program sits within Apple’s previously announced US$600 billion, and the company said its US operations support over 450,000 jobs.

TDK will make sensors in the US for the first time, while Bosch will produce sensing chips at TSMC’s Camas, Washington, site and Cirrus Logic will work with GlobalFoundries in New York on chips used in Face ID systems.

Apple has also absorbed tariff costs, as US trade policies continue to shift.

🔗 Source: CNBC

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Apple’s investment rides a wave of government-fueled manufacturing expansion

Apple’s $400 million commitment builds on far larger federal spending meant to rebuild the U.S. semiconductor (chipmaking) industry 1.
The facilities Apple’s partners will use receive subsidies through the CHIPS and Science Act (a 2022 U.S. law to boost domestic chip R&D and manufacturing), which includes $39 billion in incentives for domestic manufacturing 2.
GlobalFoundries received a $1.45 billion grant to grow its Malta, New York, campus 3.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) received $6.6 billion in grants plus $5 billion in loans for its U.S. fab (semiconductor fabrication plant) buildout in Phoenix, Arizona 3.
This government support adds capacity, which gives Apple’s American Manufacturing Program room to grow 4.

Expanding fabs is easier than expanding the workforce to run them

New U.S. chip factories follow over $640 billion in private investment announcements since 2020, which creates a skilled labor shortage 3.
Analysts estimate the buildout needs 300,000 more skilled workers across construction and engineering, and the labor market cannot supply that many 2.
The hiring squeeze pits tech companies against the automotive sector, since new fabs also aim to supply carmakers 5.
Apple announced the Apple Manufacturing Academy in Detroit, scheduled to open August 19, to help train workers so these multi-billion-dollar factories can run 4.