Apple CEO donates RM302mil to charity
Tim Cook to move Apple toward a charitable direction. (Image source: Reuters)
With great powers come great responsibility, and Apple’s new CEO Tim Cook starts with making a few changes including the company’s philanthropic efforts.
During an internal town hall meeting to celebrate Apple’s blockbuster earnings, Cook announced several charitable contributions including USD50mil (RM151mil) to Stanford’s hospitals (USD25mil (RM75.5mil) for a new main building and USD25mil for a new children’s hospital), and USD50mil to Product Red, a charity that combats diseases such as AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.
This marks a huge contrast from his predecessor Steve Jobs, who according to the new book Inside Apple, once told employees that giving away money was a waste of time.
Cook was quick to make this modification upon his appointment and has also started giving his employees big discounts on Apple products. He’s also instituted a company wide charitable program that matches donations made by employees up to USD10,000 (RM30,210) per annum.
"Starting Sept 15, when you give money to a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, Apple will match your gift dollar-for-dollar, up to USD10,000 annually. This program will be for full-time employees in the US at first, and we’ll expand it to other parts of the world over time," Cook announced in an e-mail to his staff.
Charitable deeds aside, Cook still need to address The New York Times article of hazardous working conditions in a factory in China that manufactures Apple iPad.
Cook responded to the article saying, "We care about every worker in our worldwide supply chain. Any accident is deeply troubling, and any issue with working conditions is cause for concern. Any suggestion that we don't care is patently false and offensive to us."
Source: Agencies
Published Feb 3, 2012
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