Apple’s Boatload of U.S. Jobs? Total B.S.

Cut the crap. Build the products. That’s the job.

Apr 07, 2025

Every time Donald Trump launches a tariff tantrum, Apple follows with its own theater: a star-spangled “Invest in America” pledge. If Trump’s trade wars are for the optics, Apple’s job promises are no different. They’re smoke and mirrors.

Take 2018. As Trump kicked off his first trade war with China, Apple tried to ride the patriotic wave. The company pledged a massive $350 billion investment in the United States over five years — and with it, the creation of 20,000 new U.S. jobs.

Then came 2021. Apple claimed the 2018 plan was such a success, it doubled down with an even bigger headline: $430 billion more, and yes, another 20,000 jobs.

That’s 40,000 high-paying Apple jobs promised on U.S. soil. Sounds great, right?

Now here’s the reality check: between 2018 and 2024, Apple’s global headcount grew by just 32,000 employees — from 132,000 to 164,000. The company doesn’t disclose U.S.-only numbers, but even with a generous assumption that half of those were American hires, that’s just 16,000 U.S. jobs.

Best-case scenario? Apple missed its job creation target by over 50%. Worst-case? It missed by a mile.

So where did the $780 billion go?

Apple uses a broad brush when it talks about “investment.” That $350 billion (or $430 billion, or now $500 billion) isn’t just about building factories or hiring people. It includes everything from real estate purchases to server farms, supplier contracts, and content or business deals. Some of that spending does support economic activity. But most of it? It doesn’t create full-time Apple jobs in America.

And that’s the catch. These investment announcements are engineered for headlines, not accountability.

I still wasn’t ready to believe it. Maybe there was some part of me — the optimist clinging to old notions of corporate responsibility — that thought Apple might actually follow through. So I went looking. I checked their capital expenditures to see if those investments had actually materialized.

The total? Just $73 billion in CapEx between 2018 and 2024.

But there was one area where Apple put serious cash to work: buybacks.

According to Barron’s:

“Apple spent $96.3 billion on buybacks in the 12 months ending in June 2024, $440 billion over the past five years, and $687 billion over the last 10 years — in the largest repurchase program of any U.S. company. Apple bought back about 35% of its stock over that 10-year period net of issuance.”

So yes — Apple’s focus isn’t on creating new American jobs. It’s on, well… Apple.

And just when you think they might change course, here comes another splashy announcement: on February 24th, 2025, Apple unveiled plans to “invest $500 billion in the U.S. over the next four years.” It’s a long list, cleanly branded, beautifully bullet-pointed.

But hey Apple — one piece of advice:

Tell your PR agency to update the job number. Seriously.

Because this is getting embarrassing: