The Prime Minister of Ireland, Leo Varadkar is planning to award Apple’s CEO Tim Cook an award later in January.
In a recent report from Bloomberg, the two are scheduled to meet on January 20th, where Prime Minister Varadkar will give Cook an award that recognizes the partnership and investments made. From the IDA Ireland, an investment agency in the country, the award is “in recognition of the iPhone maker’s 40 years of investment in Ireland.”
The relationship between Apple and Ireland has been faced with harsh criticisms in the past. In 2016, the European Commission determined that Apple was granted illegal state aid from Ireland. Of course, both parties attempted to appeal the ruling in 2017 but were unable to counter the claim that Ireland did not secure Apple’s back taxes.
In addition, Apple has attempted to open a flagship storefront in Ireland, but plans were cancelled after significant pushback from the community.
According to Apple’s European Job Creation page, Apple staffs over 6000 employees in Ireland, 17,000 App Store ecosystem positions, and 386 supplies despite not having a retail location within the country. That is a small drop in the bucket for Apple’s presence in Europe, where over 1.7 million job opportunities have been created across numerous countries and regions.
