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Apple CEO Tim Cook has arrived in Ireland, the latest destination on his European tour, which has included stops in Italy and the Netherlands.

tim-cook-pm-ireland-800x533.jpg
Apple CEO Tim Cook and Ireland's Taoiseach Leo Varadkar

Leo Varadkar, the Taoiseach or Prime Minister of Ireland, tweeted that he had a "good meeting" with Cook in the capital of Dublin on Monday. It's unclear what was discussed, but it appears to have been a routine meeting.

Good meeting with @tim_cook of @Apple this evening at ?@merrionstreet?. He's on to Cork next to open an extension to the facility there pic.twitter.com/XRBTHzNC2c - Leo Varadkar (@campaignforleo) June 18, 2018

Cook has since headed to Cork, where Apple's European headquarters are located. There, he will formally announce an expansion of its Hollyhill campus. Apple says a new building will provide space for an additional 1,400 employees. Since 2012, Apple says it has invested nearly EUR220 million to develop the facility.

Apple-Ireland-800x364.jpg
Apple's campus in Cork

Apple, on its recently updated Job Creation page in Europe, says it is Cork's "largest private employer" and "proud" that many of its employees in the area have worked at the company for decades.

Apple's website notes that it "has been based in Cork for over 35 years and now directly employs 6,000 people throughout Ireland supporting all aspects of the business." The company also says its Irish team has "doubled in size over the last five years and includes over 80 different nationalities."

Apple says Cork is home to its "only wholly owned manufacturing facility in the world. It provides configure-to-order iMacs which are for customers across Europe, Middle East, and Africa." AppleCare support for those regions is also based in Cork.

apple-cork-imac-facility-800x486.jpg
Nicole, a Product Quality Engineer, at Apple's iMac facility in Cork

While in Cork, Cook also visited The English Market, according to photos shared on Twitter. Earlier, in Dublin, he met with developers from Hostelworld. The app, featured on Apple's website, allows travelers to search for and book thousands of hostels in more than 170 countries around the world.

Honoured & privileged to host @tim_cook at the @hostelworld Dublin office today, great honour for our iOS team, company & #hostels #ios #apple #meettheworld pic.twitter.com/rfgUvzRHbg - breffni (@breffnih) June 19, 2018

All of this amounts to good PR for Apple in Ireland, just over a month after it abandoned its plans to build a $1 billion data center in the country due to "delays in the approval process," primarily due to concerns from some local residents. Apple and Ireland are also in a major tax dispute with the European Commission.

Apple's updated Job Creation page also reveals that it now supports 1.7 million jobs across Europe, including around 1.5 million jobs attributable to the App Store ecosystem, some 170,000 jobs supported by Apple's supply chain in Europe, and some 22,000 direct Apple employees in 19 countries across the continent.

Since the App Store was created, Apple says it has now paid EUR20 billion to European app developers. The company says the United Kingdom leads Europe in terms of jobs linked to App Store development, at 291,000.

Article Link: Tim Cook Visits Ireland as Apple Promotes Its Support of Over 1.7 Million Jobs in Europe
 

Buck Mulligan

macrumors newbie
Mar 7, 2015
4
14



Apple CEO Tim Cook has arrived in Ireland, the latest destination on his European tour, which has included stops in Italy and the Netherlands.

tim-cook-pm-ireland-800x533.jpg

Apple CEO Tim Cook and Ireland's Taoiseach Leo Varadkar

Leo Varadkar, the Taoiseach or Prime Minister of Ireland, tweeted that he had a "good meeting" with Cook in the capital of Dublin on Monday. It's unclear what was discussed, but it appears to have been a routine meeting.


Cook has since headed to Cork, where Apple's European headquarters are located. There, he will formally announce an expansion of its Hollyhill campus. Apple says a new building will provide space for an additional 1,400 employees. Since 2012, Apple says it has invested nearly EUR220 million to develop the facility.

Apple-Ireland-800x364.jpg

Apple's campus in Cork

Apple, on its recently updated Job Creation page in Europe, says it is Cork's "largest private employer" and "proud" that many of its employees in the area have worked at the company for decades.

Apple's website notes that it "has been based in Cork for over 35 years and now directly employs 6,000 people throughout Ireland supporting all aspects of the business." The company also says its Irish team has "doubled in size over the last five years and includes over 80 different nationalities."

Apple says Cork is home to its "only wholly owned manufacturing facility in the world. It provides configure-to-order iMacs which are for customers across Europe, Middle East, and Africa." AppleCare support for those regions is also based in Cork.

apple-cork-imac-facility-800x486.jpg

Nicole, a Product Quality Engineer, at Apple's iMac facility in Cork

While in Cork, Cook also visited The English Market, according to photos shared on Twitter. Earlier, in Dublin, he met with developers from Hostelworld. The app, featured on Apple's website, allows travelers to search for and book thousands of hostels in more than 170 countries around the world.


All of this amounts to good PR for Apple in Ireland, just over a month after it abandoned its plans to build a $1 billion data center in the country due to "delays in the approval process," primarily due to concerns from some local residents. Apple and Ireland are also in a major tax dispute with the European Commission.

Apple's updated Job Creation page also reveals that it now supports 1.7 million jobs across Europe, including around 1.5 million jobs attributable to the App Store ecosystem, some 170,000 jobs supported by Apple's supply chain in Europe, and some 22,000 direct Apple employees in 19 countries across the continent.

Since the App Store was created, Apple says it has now paid EUR20 billion to European app developers. The company says the United Kingdom leads Europe in terms of jobs linked to App Store development, at 291,000.

Article Link: Tim Cook Visits Ireland as Apple Promotes Its Job Creation in Europe
[doublepost=1529416667][/doublepost]And not a single Apple Store in the Republic of Ireland.
 

Baymowe335

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Oct 6, 2017
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They're based in Ireland because of the unparalleled innovation ecosystem and greatly qualified human resources there.

Not because of tax deals.

/s
Apple runs a business that is owned by shareholders. Do you think it’s wrong for any company to maximize tax advantages while also following every US and foreign tax law to the letter?

Why should they pay more tax than they have to? Apple is already the largest taxpayer in he world.

Welcome to business.
 
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The Phazer

macrumors 68030
Oct 31, 2007
2,997
929
London, UK
They're based in Ireland because of the unparalleled innovation ecosystem and greatly qualified human resources there.

Not because of tax deals.

/s

Yep. Who are Apple trying to kid here? They have some staff in Ireland, but not that many, and the massive tax dodge the Irish government gave them effectively made those employees free.

And all the decision making staff were placed in London...
 

Krayzkat

Suspended
Apr 22, 2011
754
1,353
[doublepost=1529416667][/doublepost]And not a single Apple Store in the Republic of Ireland.
Yes, it's absolutely ridiculous they don't have any retail stores in EIRE. It's like they are taking the p*ss..... they launder their money through Ireland, but any customers over there that have a problem with their iphones/ipads can have the hassle of 3rd party repair shops.
 

Substance90

macrumors 6502a
Oct 13, 2011
517
816
Apple runs a business that is owned by shareholders. Do you think it’s wrong for any company to maximize tax advantages while also following every US and foreign tax law to the letter?

Why should they pay more tax than they have to? Apple is already the largest taxpayer in he world.

Welcome to business.
Hm, this might be true in absolute sense but as a percentage of total income they are one of the smallest taxpayers in the world. Heck, every broke ass freelancer is a bigger tax payer than them as a percentage of income.
 

rom3o

macrumors regular
Dec 22, 2014
198
256
Too bad he can't visit the infamous head office of Apple Operations International during his stay in Ireland. I imagine it to look like Scrooge McDucks Money Bin - at least on paper.
 
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Gasu E.

macrumors 603
Mar 20, 2004
5,029
3,145
Not far from Boston, MA.
They're based in Ireland because of the unparalleled innovation ecosystem and greatly qualified human resources there.

Not because of tax deals.

/s

Yes, and no. Ireland DOES have an innovation ecosystem and quality human resources. The REASON they were able to develop this was, in part, due to the tax advantages. My own previous company has a very large engineering, support, and manufacturing facility there. I'm sure taxes was the reason they put their European HQ there in the first place. But the jobs and people were real. Many of the engineers at that site were eventually promoted into very senior positions and relocated to our US sites.
 

truthertech

macrumors 68020
Jun 24, 2016
2,109
2,263
They're based in Ireland because of the unparalleled innovation ecosystem and greatly qualified human resources there.

Not because of tax deals.

/s


How's that cynical life working for you?

Apple has brought economic benefits and jobs to millions of people around the globe, including the beautiful land and people of Ireland. They just went over a $100 Billion dollars paid to app developers like those in this post. Come on over the positive side of life--the water's fine!
 

mathiasec

macrumors newbie
May 15, 2014
19
25
I think it's shameful that Ireland allowed itself to be a tax haven. No doubt Scrooge McCook is there to work on some ways around the EU's demands.

I really can't stand the guy.

Being a tax haven is just about the only thing Ireland could do. They don’t exactly have much more to offer, especially if they want to attract foreign workers.
 

MacBram

macrumors regular
Jan 28, 2002
132
28
Zeeland, Nederland
Yes, it's absolutely ridiculous they don't have any retail stores in EIRE. It's like they are taking the p*ss..... they launder their money through Ireland, but any customers over there that have a problem with their iphones/ipads can have the hassle of 3rd party repair shops.

Launder? 6000 employees in Ireland are more than they have in most European, African and MiddleEastern countries (if not all of those countries, except perhaps UK).

How is it laundering if the Ireland operation is the wholesaler for the whole region? For Apple's own retail stores and third-party suppliers like the Media Mart chain?

Furthermore, the online store for the region is based there, too -- When I order online here in Netherlands, there is no Dutch Online Store; it is a localized language version of Apple's online store. Where do my goods get dispatched from for delivery to my home in the Netherlands? .....Ireland.

If the wholesale cost of every Apple product purchased in physical stores throughout Europe, Africa and MiddleEast, PLUS the retail cost of every product purchased online in the same region, is booked in Ireland as Apple's distribution center, how is that laundering? It's called single market.
 
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G4DPII

macrumors 6502
Jun 8, 2015
401
544
Talk about slack, at least make it a convincing fake and make the poor bugger from HR wear a white coat and hat.
 

Baymowe335

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Oct 6, 2017
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Hm, this might be true in absolute sense but as a percentage of total income they are one of the smallest taxpayers in the world. Heck, every broke ass freelancer is a bigger tax payer than them as a percentage of income.
GE has paid $0 tax as well as General Motors. IBM has insanely low effective tax rates, while raking in huge profits.

You're incorrect in saying they are the lowest as a percentage of income. Apple isn't even close. They are generally around 25%, actually among the highest. You actually have no clue what you're talking about.
 

Krayzkat

Suspended
Apr 22, 2011
754
1,353
Launder? 6000 employees in Ireland are more than they have in most European, African and MiddleEastern countries (if not all of those countries, except perhaps UK).

How is it laundering if the Ireland operation is the wholesaler for the whole region? For Apple's own retail stores and third-party suppliers like the Media Mart chain?

Furthermore, the online store for the region is based there, too -- When I order online here in Netherlands, there is no Dutch Online Store; it is a localized language version of Apple's online store. Where do my goods get dispatched from for delivery to my home in the Netherlands? .....Ireland.

If the wholesale cost of every Apple product purchased in physical stores throughout Europe, Africa and MiddleEast, PLUS the retail cost of every product purchased online in the same region, is booked in Ireland as Apple's distribution center, how is that laundering? It's called single market.
You do realise that not all the employees that work in Cork are from the area originally? The reason it's based there in the first place, was because of the tax deal the Irish government and Apple agreed on.

The EU doesn't agree this is a valid legal tax strategy, and this is why there is a few billion euros held in an escrow account until Ireland/Apple/the EU all agree (or be told) what to do. Since the EU doesn't agree that this deal was 'valid', i think i'm perfectly right on describing it as 'laundering'. It doesn't matter if other companies do this too, as they will eventually get fined for back taxes too.

Just because i own and like Apple products doesn't mean i'm going to blindly agree on everything they do.

ps. Oh yeah, and not having any retail stores in the Republic of Ireland but have their distribution warehouses/offices/online stores based there, just seems a bit 'unusual'. There's 4 in Scotland (similar population size to EIRE) and even 1 in Northern Ireland.
 
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