He stated that the corporation intends to hire additional people to work in artificial intelligence (AI).
It comes only one day after Epic Games reported a 16% reduction in its personnel.
Since 2022, major corporations including as Amazon, Meta, Google, and Microsoft have slashed tens of thousands of employees.
Mr Cook has been scathing of the trend of IT layoffs, describing them as a “last resort” in May.
Instead, when asked about AI and jobs in the UK, he told the PA news agency, “We’re hiring in that area, yes, and so I do expect [investment] to increase.”
Companies are investing heavily in artificial intelligence. On Monday, Amazon announced a $4 billion (£3.3 billion) investment in San Francisco-based AI firm Anthropic.
In January, Microsoft made a multibillion-dollar investment in ChatGPT producer OpenAI.
Apple’s decision was described as “another vote of confidence in our burgeoning tech sector” by Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan.
“Apple’s ongoing investment in brilliant British talent highlights our global credentials as both an AI and technology superpower,” she wrote on X, the microblogging service that replaced Twitter.
“The transformative nature of AI will undoubtedly boost staff headcount in AI businesses over the next couple of years,” said Antony Walker, deputy chief of the industry organization techUK.
However, he said, “In the long run, the skills required by the AI-powered economy of the future are more difficult to predict.” That is why businesses and governments should collaborate on a long-term strategy that prioritizes digital skills training and lifetime learning.”
Meanwhile, Tim Pullan, CEO of ThoughtRiver, which provides artificial intelligence for legal professionals, believes the world economy is on the verge of “an AI-driven revolution.”
“It’s vitally important that the UK is at the forefront of this transformation,” he stated.
“As a country, we have huge potential to grow as an AI superpower, and I’m sure this is the start of a trend which will see more and more companies looking to take advantage of the UK’s deep tech expertise, and the UK benefiting from the investment and innovation that this will bring.”
