Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) were commended by President Obama in his State of the Union address for adding manufacturing jobs to the U.S. economy. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) CEO Tim Cook was one of several people to sit with First Lady Michelle Obama during the address last night.
One of the main points in President Obama’s speech was that businesses in the U.S. needed to create more jobs to bolster the economy. He praised companies like Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), because they are currently in the process of doing this.
“Our first priority is making America a magnet for new jobs and manufacturing,” President Obama said. “After shedding jobs for more than 10 years, our manufacturers have added about 500,000 jobs over the past three. Caterpillar is bringing jobs back from Japan. Ford is bringing jobs back from Mexico. And this year, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) will start making Macs in America again.”
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) announced plans in December to begin manufacturing Mac computers in the U.S. back in December. According to Cook, the company will invest $100 million in the endeavor. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is reportedly planning on releasing a refresh for its Mac Pro this year, possibly in the spring. The company announced it would stop selling Mac Pros in Europe as of March 1 because the old model doesn’t meet new regulatory standards there.
Meanwhile Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) has just recently built a new factory in Arizona. That facility will likely begin producing the company’s next-generation processes, which CNET reports will be based on 14-nanometer technology. Intel has been working on making its processors run on less power, including both the Ivy Bridge chips and the Haswell processors.
