Good morning. Apple’s CEO Tim Cook is planning to spend big on American innovation.
The tech giant announced on Monday an investment of $500 billion in the U.S. over the next four years which will include projects such as a new server manufacturing facility in Houston slated to open in 2026 and a supplier academy in Michigan. Apple said it expected to hire about 20,000 workers during that time.
The company has made similar announcements in the past, including during President Donald Trump’s first term in 2018, in which he ultimately decided that the iPhone would be exempted from a list of tariffed goods. Also in 2021, under former President Biden, Apple said it would spend $430 billion over five years and hire 20,000 people.
Despite these initiatives, Apple currently builds the vast majority of iPhones and other products in China, where tariffs went into effect earlier this month. Monday’s investment announcement is Apple’s largest-ever spending commitment in the U.S. to date and suggests a more concerted push to change its manufacturing strategy—and win political concessions.
“I would not be surprised if Apple’s announcement about accelerating investment in the U.S. and hiring 20,000 U.S. employees is part of a deal to make the company exempt from the tariffs on goods imported from China,” Peter Cohan, associate professor of management practice at Babson College told me.
Apple’s $500 billion figure likely includes “spending on R&D, data centers, the new manufacturing facility in Houston, supporting the supply chain, training, and original content, such as movies and shows for Apple TV+ service,” Wamsi Mohan, research analyst at Bank of America, wrote in a note on Monday. Mohan added that investment in “most of these categories was likely already on the roadmap for spending, however, Apple might have shifted part of the spending to the U.S.” Bank of America analysts do not expect a change to capital return plans, he said.
‘Hiring the right talent’
CFOs say finding the right tech talent is more important than ever. And research finds three of the top 10 biggest near-term risks for executives and board members revolve around labor and talent.
Apple plans to hire around 20,000 people who will be focused mostly on R&D, silicon engineering, software development, and AI and machine learning, the company said.
“Competition for AI skills and expertise continues to ramp up,” said Tim Herbert, chief research officer at CompTIA Inc., a global IT training and certification vendor. “As companies across every sector of the economy pursue the talent to support their AI initiatives, inevitably there will be shortages, or, at a minimum, lengthier or more challenging recruiting efforts.” A CompTIA analysis of job posting data from Lightcast finds the volume of employer recruiting for dedicated AI roles, such as an AI engineer, approximately doubled year-over-year, Herbert said.
The AI spending race is on among Big Tech companies that will need top talent, like Meta which is speeding up the hiring process for machine learning engineers.
Meanwhile, Cohan agreed that Apple will have to compete for talent. “So far Apple’s AI, such as Apple Intelligence, has been underwhelming, but they could change that by hiring the right talent and managing the process more effectively,” he said.
Cohan also added: “It may be that the pressure to hire so many talented people will convince the president to allow more H-1B visas so the talent can move to the U.S.”
Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com
Leaderboard
Fortune 500 Power Moves
Ahmed Moghal was promoted to CFO of Baker Hughes Company (No. 161), effective immediately, the firm announced on Monday. Moghal most recently served as CFO of the industrial and energy technology business. Before that, he held senior positions in various business and corporate roles at the company. In this role, Moghal succeeds Nancy Buese, who, “by mutual agreement with the company,” ceased to serve as CFO, effective Feb. 24, according to the announcement. Buese held the CFO role since late 2022 and will become an adviser to the company before departing on April 30.
Every Friday morning, the weekly Fortune 500 Power Moves column tracks Fortune 500 company C-suite shifts—see the most recent edition.
More notable moves
Jessica Holscott was appointed CFO of Nielsen, a global audience measurement, data and analytics provider, effective Feb. 24. Most recently, Holscott was the CFO of Spotter, a creator-focused company. Before that, she served as CFO and EVP for Warner Media. Holscott also served as CFO and EVP for HBO.
Andrew Gengos was named CFO of Terns Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: TERN), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, effective immediately. Most recently, Gengos served as CFO of Athira Pharma, Inc. Before that, he was chief business officer at Cyteir Therapeutics. In addition, Gengos held chief executive officer roles at ImmunoCellular Therapeutics and Neuraltus Pharmaceuticals.
Big Deal
A new Resume Now survey reveals how post-election tensions can influence team dynamics and professional relationships. Ninety-one percent of employees surveyed report they have witnessed or experienced political clashes at work, and 51% actively avoid coworkers with differing views, according to the report.
Another key finding is political divisions are also affecting workplace relationships as 51% of respondents actively avoid collaborating with coworkers with opposing views. The report is based on a survey of more than 1,000 U.S. workers.
Going deeper
Deloitte’s “2025 M&A Trends Survey: A time to pivot,” explores what’s shaping dealmaking this year. Nearly three-quarters of corporate and private equity (PE) executives surveyed anticipate their average deal size or value to increase over the next 12 months, and 79% of corporate and 87% of PE leaders expect the volume of deals to grow larger in the coming year as well.
In the past two years, 88% of corporate respondents and 81% of PE respondents indicated they had made significant shifts in their deal-targeting strategies, according to the report. The leading shift for both corporations and PE firms involved narrowing focus on a smaller number of sectors.
Another finding is leaders across both corporate (54%) and PE (52%) continue to look to lending from nontraditional lenders to get deals done.
Overheard
“The essence of a high-performing team transcends merely avoiding pitfalls; it is fundamentally about envisioning and reaching our desired objectives.”
—Jennifer Van Buskirk, the EVP and GM of AT&T’s Mid-Markets business, writes in a Fortune opinion piece, titled “Beware of ‘intergalactic committees’—small, focused teams are the best way to get work done.”
