Apple said it spent $60 billion across 9,000 American component suppliers and companies in 2018, representing an increase of more than 10% from 2017.
On Monday, the tech giant detailed some of the manufacturing jobs it has brought to the United States, specifically jobs its brought to the component manufacturer, Finisar. The company was awarded a $390 million contract around a year ago to expand production of one part of Apple’s TrueDepth camera, which was introduced with the iPhone X.
The manufacturer’s factory in Texas makes vertical-cavity-surface-emitting lasers, often referred to as VCSELs for Apple. The wafers are “as thin as a human hair and contain hundreds of layers measuring only a few atoms in thickness.” Making them requires not only an advanced and precise manufacturing operation but also skilled technicians that have received specialized training.
The glass for the iPhone is made by Corning in Harrodsburg, Kentucky, and the wireless communication hardware in the phone is made at Broadcom in Fort Collins, Colorado, Qorvo in Hillsboro, Oregon, and Skyworks in Woburn, Massachusetts.
That $60 billion is also going toward jobs, Apple said. Since 2011, the number of jobs Apple said it has created and supported in the United States has more than tripled, growing from around 600,000 to now 2 million across all 50 states.
Apple’s high-end iPhones are currently assembled in China. Last year, stories surfaced that some of that production may be moved to India.