After Presidential Election Tim Cook Reassures Apple Staff That They Will ‘Move Forward Together’
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In the face of staggering political division and a wholly unexpected election outcome, Apple CEO Tim Cook has reassured staff that Cupertino will “move forward together.”
That quote comes from a memo that Cook sent out to US Apple employees Wednesday evening, and obtained by BuzzFeed News. Cook did not mention Trump by name in the email; he only offered a statement of unity, and reaffirmed Apple’s strong commitments to social justice and equality.
“Our company is open to all, and we celebrate the diversity of our team here in the United States and around the world — regardless of what they look like, where they come from, how they worship or who they love,” Cook wrote.
During the campaign, President-elect Trump personally singled out Apple. He once told a crowd during one of his rallies that “we’re going to get Apple to build their damn computers and things in this country instead of in other countries.” A month after that, he called for a boycott of Apple products due to the company’s stance on encryption in the wake of the mass shooting and bombing threat in San Bernardino, according to TechCrunch.
Apple was not exactly silent about Trump’s candidacy during the election. In June of this year, Cupertino refused to aid the 2016 Republican National Convention by donating technology or cash, citing then-candidate Trump’s comments about immigrants, minorities and women. Not all tech companies followed Apple’s lead — Facebook, Google and Microsoft all provided some support to the RNC, Politico reported.
But despite the controversy and division, Cook reasserted that Apple is open to all, and their primary mission is to continue to provide products that will allow their customers to “do great things to improve their lives and the world at large.”
“While there is discussion today about uncertainties ahead, you can be confident that Apple’s North Star hasn’t changed,” Cook wrote in the memo.
