Key Highlights:
- Apple commits USD 2.5 billion to produce all iPhone and Apple Watch cover glass in Kentucky.
- Corning’s Kentucky workforce to grow by 50 percent with the creation of a new production line and innovation center.
- For the first time, all Apple cover glass will be manufactured domestically for global devices.
Apple and Corning have announced a landmark USD 2.5 billion expansion of their nearly two-decade-long partnership. The move will bring 100 percent of iPhone and Apple Watch cover glass manufacturing to Corning’s Harrodsburg, Kentucky facility, making all Apple cover glass for global devices “Made in the USA” for the first time ever.
Corning’s facility will house the world’s largest and most advanced smartphone glass production line, dedicated entirely to Apple. The investment is set to increase the facility’s workforce by 50 percent and will include a new Apple-Corning Innovation Center focused on developing next-gen materials and manufacturing technologies.
Part of Apple’s USD 600 Billion U.S. Investment Plan
This initiative aligns with Apple’s broader American Manufacturing Program (AMP) and its commitment to invest over USD 600 billion in the U.S. economy over the next four years. AMP aims to onshore production and incentivize global suppliers to manufacture key Apple components domestically.
Apple CEO Tim Cook praised the partnership as a win for American manufacturing, saying, “Any customer anywhere in the world who buys a new iPhone or Apple Watch will be holding precision glass made right here in Kentucky.”
Legacy of Innovation and Domestic Impact
The Harrodsburg facility has been a key partner since the original iPhone’s launch in 2007. Today, it produces Apple’s proprietary Ceramic Shield—billed as the toughest smartphone glass in the industry.
Corning CEO Wendell Weeks reflected on the long-standing relationship, highlighting how the new investment is bringing glass production “back to the original home of the innovation.”
Corning also supports Apple’s silicon supply chain by providing materials to AMP partner GlobalWafers, enhancing domestic semiconductor manufacturing.
Apple currently supports over 450,000 U.S. supplier and partner jobs and plans to hire 20,000 more employees focused on R&D, AI, and chip development in the coming years.
