Apple will hire 20K, but investment figures off

“Apple has just announced it plans to invest a total of $350 billion in America, and hire another 20,000 workers.” — Donald Trump on Tuesday in the State of the Union address

Apple announced on Jan. 17 a series of initiatives to bolster its position in the United States. “Combining new investments and Apple’s current pace of spending with domestic suppliers and manufacturers — an estimated $55 billion for 2018 — Apple’s direct contribution to the U.S. economy will be more than $350 billion over the next five years,” the statement said.

Apple did not say it plans to invest $350 billion but rather described its “direct contribution to the U.S. economy.”

Charles Lee, accounting professor at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, told us the distinction is huge. Apple said its purchases from other companies will be large — about $55 billion in 2018. Lee said if that number didn’t grow, Apple would spend about $275 billion over five years. But that’s the cost of doing business and doesn’t represent new investment.

Lee said “My best estimate of the change in Apple’s U.S. investments attributable to the new laws is at most $37 billion.”

Our ruling

Trump got the new-hires figure right, but Apple’s own announcement doesn’t back him up on the investment dollars.

An accounting professor estimated the investment at no more than $37 billion. And based on Apple’s press release, it could be $34 billion.

That’s still a lot of money, but it’s less than 10 percent of what Trump said.

We rate this claim Half True.

COMPILED BY POLITIFACT STAFF Apple’s investment in the United States due to new tax laws will be more in the $35 billion range, not the $350 billion cited by President Trump.