Apple Shifts All iPhone and Watch Glass Production to the U.S.

Apple and glass-maker Corning are taking their partnership to the next level. The two companies announced that 100% of the cover glass for all iPhones and Apple Watches sold worldwide will now be made in Harrodsburg, Kentucky.

Apple is investing $2.5 billion into Corning’s plant to make this happen. The factory will be fully dedicated to producing glass just for Apple, which the company says will increase Corning’s Kentucky workforce by about 50%. Corning is also building what it claims will be the largest and most advanced smartphone glass production line in the world.

This expansion is part of Apple’s broader goal to spend $600 billion in the U.S. over the next four years. The company’s new “American Manufacturing Program” aims to bring more of its production — from glass to silicon chips — to the U.S., instead of relying so heavily on overseas factories.

“Corning is a storied American company, and we’re thrilled to work together to build the largest and most advanced production line ever created for smartphone glass,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO in a statement this afternoon. “Thanks to the power of American manufacturing, any customer anywhere in the world who buys a new iPhone or Apple Watch will be holding precision glass made right here in Kentucky. We’re grateful to the President and his administration for their support for American manufacturing, and we’re excited for the innovation this investment will unlock.”

Corning’s CEO Wendell Weeks added, “Apple is an amazing partner for American manufacturers like us, and together, we’ve innovated and pushed the boundaries of what’s possible. We developed and made the glass for the very first iPhone in Harrodsburg, Kentucky, 18 years ago. With this new multibillion-dollar commitment from Apple and the lighting of our most advanced manufacturing platform, we are hiring more people and bringing 100 percent of Apple’s cover glass needs for iPhone and Apple Watch to the original home of the innovation.”

“These investments will directly create more than 20,000 brand new American jobs — and many thousands more at the Apple suppliers… @Apple will massively increase spending on its domestic supply chain for the iPhone, and will build the largest and most sophisticated smart glass production line in the world in Harrodsburg, Kentucky,” said the White House on Wednesday evening.

The Harrodsburg factory has actually been working with Apple since the very first iPhone in 2007. It’s the home of Ceramic Shield, the super-tough glass Apple uses on its newest phones. Apple has already poured close to $500 million into this facility since 2017, but this is its biggest move yet.

The plan also includes a new Apple-Corning Innovation Center at the same site, which will focus on developing materials for future Apple products. Meanwhile, Corning’s materials are also being used to support other parts of Apple’s U.S. supply chain, including silicon wafers for making chips.