Bloomberg reports that Tim Cook held an all-out meeting with Apple employees today to address immigration and deportation concerns. Here are the details.
Cook vows to “continue to address” the issue with lawmakers
According to the report, Cook acknowledged that some Apple employees “don’t feel comfortable” leaving their homes and said that “nobody should feel that way.”
Cook also reportedly told employees that he would continue to address the issue with lawmakers because Apple’s current workforce includes “team members across the U.S. on some form of Visa.”
BloombergThe report said Cook also credited Apple’s long-term success to its ability to attract talent from around the world, pledging to “continue to push the (immigration) issue with US lawmakers:
“For as long as I can remember, we’ve been a smarter, wiser, more innovative company because we’ve attracted the best and the brightest from all over the world. (…) I will continue to lobby lawmakers on this issue. You have my word on that.”
Cook also responded to an Apple employee who said he was concerned about “being deported and being separated from his daughter.” Here it is Bloomberg:
Cook said, “I love you if you’re on DACA,” referring to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which allows people who came to the U.S. as children to stay in the country on work permits. He said Apple has hundreds of DACA workers. “I will personally intercede for you,” he said. “I have a lot of faith in the program.
Today’s all-rounders come just days after Tim Cook was widely criticized for his evasive remarks following his attendance at the White House premiere of “Melania” hours after the killing of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.
In the memo, Cook said he was “heartbroken by the events in Minneapolis” but stopped short of saying anything that might sound critical of the administration.
Although today’s remarks signal a firmer resolve, they can also be read as damage control, as Bloomberg states that even within Apple, Cook was “privately criticized (…) for his limited and late response to the shooting.”
Whether Cook’s words today lead to any meaningful action remains to be seen.
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