Tim Cook, Apple CEO will be receiving an award that recognizes 40 years of investment in Ireland. Leo Varadkar, Irish Prime Minister will be the one to present the award, which will be held in Dublin on January 20.
The relationship between Ireland and Apple isn’t clear cut. The European Commission filed a lawsuit against Ireland in 2017 for failing to collect back taxes from the Cupertino-based company. If overturned, the tax money will be returned.
In 2018, Apple planned to have a data center built in Ireland, but faced local resistance due to its location to a dormant nuclear power plant and wildlife. Apple built its headquarters in Cork, where it employs 1.7 million people. Among those who work within the App Store platform, 17,000 are Irish.
On Apple’s website, it says that they have 6,000 employees from Ireland, and that the team has doubled over the last 5 years and now includes 80-plus unique nationalities.
