Close on the heels of Mark Zuckerberg voicing his thoughts on the executive order decreed by the Trump administration, which debars people from seven countries from U.S. visas for 90 days, Apple's CEO Tim Cook has expressed his views.
In an e-mail to Apple employees, Cook shared his views on the matter and expressed the concerns shared by several of the company's employees who are immigrants.
Cook asserted the importance of immigrants and shared that without them, Apple would not be able to operate.
"In my conversations with officials here in Washington this week, I've made it clear that Apple believes deeply in the importance of immigration — both to our company and to our nation's future. Apple would not exist without immigration, let alone thrive and innovate the way we do," stated the Apple CEO.
The Declaration
Cook revealed that he shared the concerns and did not support the new policy. Several Apple employees he noted were "directly affected" by the immigration directive from the Trump administration. However, the company's security, HR and legal teams were hard at work and were in touch with these employees to offer them assistance.
The CEO asserted that the Cupertino-based company would do whatever is in its power to support its affected employees. In this effort, the company is offering those impacted by the immigration order resources on the AppleWeb to assist employees who have any concerns or queries on immigration policies.
Cook also disclosed that Apple had "reached out to the White House" in a bid to elucidate the adverse impact this move was having on the company, as well the workers.
He stressed that the diversity is what makes Apple's operations stronger. He added that the workers at Apple were compassionate and would support each other in times of need.
Cook reasserted to anxious employees that this empathy was extremely important at such a trying time and he felt that he could count on his co-workers to ensure that Apple employees felt valued, wanted and respected.
He reiterated that Apple was open to all and did not discriminate. It did not matter to the company what language a person spoke or what their origins were, or what faith they followed or practiced.
Cook went on to say that Apple's employees are considered to be among the most talented across the globe. The ethnic diversity is what makes the company tick, and many people who are currently working for the iPhone maker come from different nations.
He concluded that even though people were from varied backgrounds, they had the same purpose.
Photo: Valery Marchive | Flickr
