Apple CEO Tim Cook discussed his Baldwin County hometown of Robertsdale and the ripple effects of manufacturing jobs leaving small towns during an interview that aired Friday on CNBC’s “Mad Money.” Asked by host Jim Cramer about growing up near Mobile, Alabama, and watching an International Paper plant that once employed much of the area shut down, Cook reflected on what it means for a community to lose its economic anchor.
“Yeah, I do come from a very small town called Robertsdale,” Cook said. “It’s a few thousand people — they’re great salt-of-the-earth people. I come from a blue-collar family. My dad was in the shipbuilding business. It’s still around. It needs to be revitalized. And hopefully that is happening.” Cook said he has seen firsthand what happens to communities when a major employer disappears, and stressed the importance of maintaining a “hub” of economic activity in different regions. “If we take this plant as an example, this plant creates so many jobs out in the community as well, because you have more restaurants, more stores, more groceries, all the things that people buy that work here,” Cook said. “And so, it’s a virtuous cycle that creates a hub of activity. And we’re doing that across America in 79 different factories now.”
Cramer pressed Cook on whether Apple, like steelmaker Nucor, looks specifically for communities where manufacturing jobs have been “left behind” when deciding where to locate new plants. “There will definitely be different places that have those characteristics, yes,” Cook said, without naming specific cities under consideration.