Stephen Silver
On his European tour this week, Apple's CEO visited Ireland, and talked about taxes, the abandoned Athenry data center and the company's commitment to the country.
Apple's Tim Cook this week visited the Netherlands and Ireland, and in the latter country, Cook sought to reassure the Irish that Apple remains committed to staying there. This is despite the recent cancellation of the Athenry data center project, as well as Apple's ongoing tax dispute, in which Apple paid $15.3 billion last month.
On the visit, Cook celebrated Apple's campus expansion at its European headquarters in Cork.
Had a wonderful time back in Cork visiting our Apple family and friends. See you again soon! pic.twitter.com/V0KawUEJRv
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) June 19, 2018
"Honestly speaking, we didn't come to Ireland for tax," Cook said, as reported by The Irish Times, "We came to Ireland in 1980 because we saw a community we thought we could grow, and could do a number of things to support the continent. We've stayed on course on that over almost four decades. It hasn't been a straight line - life isn't a straight line, things go up and down - but it's always been in a trajectory that is increasing. I don't anticipate that changing."
Apple has 6,000 employees in Ireland, as well as 17,000 app developers and more than 300 suppliers.
The data center plan was scuttled following years of legal challenges, with Apple declaring that "we're deeply committed to our employees and customers in Ireland and are expanding our operations in Cork, with a new facility for our talented team there."
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49 Comments
Gotta love these fake sanctimony statements from high profile corporations. They're not their for the community. The good (and bad) of what they bring to a community is a bi-product of their way of doing business. They're #1 obligation is to their shareholders. Period. But, it makes them and the people around them feel better if they make it appear their #1 priority is to better communities.
Oh, come on. I’m in favor of Apple using every legal means of minimizing their taxes, as that is their fiduciary responsibility to shareholders, but that is an absurd “PC” statement from Cook. OF COURSE Apple located in Ireland to protect their interests from high taxes, they’d be idiots otherwise. Just because companies exist to make a profit does not make them “evil”. Making a profit by giving people things and services they want is one of the most noble pursuits in life. Own it!
When someone begins a statement with "Honestly speaking" it is a fairly reasonable indicator that they are not speaking honestly. It's like using "no offence" or "I'm not a racist, but ..."; they tend to be followed up with offensive or racist verbiage.