Apple has said it has “supported 1.7 million jobs” and paid €20bn to app developers in Europe, including a spend of over €550m in Ireland in the last two years, “supporting more than 25,000 jobs”.
The company also underlined the importance of its facilities in Cork to its international business.
With tech companies across the world under scrutiny by US and EU politicians over their business practices in recent months, Apple commissioned a report to emphasise its value to national economies in the EU.
It claimed 1.57 million jobs are attributable to Apple’s App Store ecosystem, that 170,000 jobs are supported across Apple’s European supplier base, and that Europe has 22,000 Apple employees in 19 countries.
About €20bn has been paid to European app developers, while the number of iOS App economy jobs has increased by 28% in Europe in the past two years, the iPhone maker said. The app ecosystem jobs data was based on research by Michael Mandel of the Progressive Policy Institute, Apple said.
The world’s most valuable company, worth $930.44bn (€801.5bn), reaffirmed the importance of Cork to its strategy, saying the city’s employees play a critical role”in product delivery and after sales support.
“Cork is home to Apple’s support and service teams, known as AppleCare. They support Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa and provide support to customers via multiple channels including phone, email and chat. “In addition to the employees in Cork we have a large at-home advisor population providing technical support to customers from their homes across Ireland.
“Apple has been based in Cork for over 35 years and now directly employs 6,000 people throughout Ireland supporting all aspects of the business. Apple’s Irish team has doubled in size over the last five years and includes over 80 different nationalities,” the company said.
Since 2012, Apple says it has invested nearly €220m to develop its Hollyhill campus on Cork’s northside, and has expanded again with a new building that provides space for 1,400 employees.
“Apple is Cork’s largest private employer and we are proud that many of the team have been with us for decades,” the firm added.
Apple, which is predicted by analysts to soon pass $1tn in market capitalisation, said Cork had its only wholly-owned manufacturing facility in the world, which provides configure-to-order iMacs in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The firm said it has worked with 386 Irish suppliers and spent over €550m with companies in the last two years, supporting more than 25,000 jobs.
