Tim Cook talks about US politics, new products, management succession plans and 50 years of Apple | News

Tim Cook spoke on numerous topics at a staff meeting and also commented on the political situation in the USA. He also spoke vaguely about upcoming products and talked about his thoughts on the restructuring of Apple’s top management. Another topic was Apple’s upcoming 50th birthday – which will be on April 1st. Bloomberg summarizes the most important statements from the event in an article.

US politics and immigration
Cook said he was “deeply dismayed” by the US’s current treatment of immigrants and wanted to continue to actively represent the issue to politicians. Many Apple employees work in the USA on a visa, which is why the question is of particular importance for the company. Cook explains that he has heard from employees who currently don’t even dare to leave their homes. Nobody, absolutely nobody, should have to feel this way, Cook emphasizes. Immigration has always been a central part of Apple’s success, as it has attracted talent from all over the world. He promised to continue to raise the issue with lawmakers.

Thoughts on top management and succession plans
Cook also briefly commented on succession planning in top management. He said he is currently thinking a lot about who will be “in the room” in five, ten or fifteen years – and that this long-term workforce planning is an essential part of leadership. The recent resignations of several top managers, including the chief operating officer, the environmental director and the chief legal officer, had been prepared for a long time and were no surprise. Age-related retirements are a natural process, Cook said. However, he did not respond to reports that Apple was also internally lining up a successor for him. He also did not mention other personal details such as the departure of the previous AI boss John Giannandrea or design manager Alan Dye.

AI will come even more heavily into Apple devices
According to Bloomberg, Cook promised that future Apple devices will rely even more heavily on AI technologies. He described AI as one of the most profound opportunities of our lifetime – and is convinced that no other company is better positioned to provide customers with powerful and useful AI functions. There will be new product and service categories that are only possible through AI.

50 years of Apple
In April, Apple will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the company, founded on April 1, 1976. According to Cook, there are plans to celebrate this with celebrations. Looking back on five decades of Apple history makes “the heart sing with joy.” Ten years ago, Apple held a big celebration with 6,000 employees at its former headquarters – and raised the pirate flags again for the occasion (Steve Jobs once said: “It’s more fun to be a pirate than to join the Navy”).

Current challenges
Finally, the CEO also discussed international business and operational risks. He highlighted progress in markets such as India and Malaysia, as well as emerging countries more generally. This is a high priority at Apple because they still have a lot of potential there. On the ongoing memory chip shortage, Cook said it was “a real problem” that needed to be addressed. COO Sabih Khan is dealing with these new challenges – but Apple has the best team in the world and is examining various options. According to him, measures to circumvent negative impacts are in progress.