Apple Releases 2022 Supply Chain Progress Report, Launches $50 Million Skills Development Fund

Apple today released its 16th annual People and Environment in Our Supply Chain report. Previously known as the Supplier Responsibility report, the document details how Apple and its suppliers are supporting people across the company's supply chain, transitioning to clean energy, and investing in innovative technologies.

apple supplier report imac assembly
Apple also announced a new $50 million Supplier Employee Development Fund that the company said will expand access to learning opportunities and skills development for people across its supply chain. Apple said the fund also includes new and expanded partnerships with rights advocates, universities, and non-profit organizations, including the International Organization for Migration and the International Labor Organization.

Apple said the new educational programming will be initially available to supplier employees in the United States, China, India, and Vietnam. By 2023, Apple said it expects more than 100,000 supplier employees to participate in new learning opportunities, ranging from leadership training and technical certifications to classes on coding, robotics, and advanced manufacturing fundamentals, including green manufacturing.

"We put people first in everything that we do, and we're proud to announce a new commitment to accelerate our progress and provide even more opportunities for people across our supply chain," said Sarah Chandler, Apple's senior director of Environment and Supply Chain Innovation. "Together with rights advocates and education leaders, we are continuing to drive new innovation to support people and the planet."

Popular Stories

Apple Logo Zoomed

Tim Cook Teases Plans for Apple's Upcoming 50th Anniversary

Thursday February 5, 2026 12:54 pm PST by
Apple turns 50 this year, and its CEO Tim Cook has promised to celebrate the milestone. The big day falls on April 1, 2026. "I've been unusually reflective lately about Apple because we have been working on what do we do to mark this moment," Cook told employees today, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "When you really stop and pause and think about the last 50 years, it makes your heart ...
wwdc sans text feature

Apple Rumored to Announce New Product on February 19

Thursday February 5, 2026 12:22 pm PST by
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld. The report, citing industry sources, is available in English on Macworld. Apple announced the iPhone 16e on Wednesday, February 19 last year, so the iPhone 17e would be unveiled exactly one year later if this rumor is accurate. It is quite uncommon for Apple to unveil...
Finder Siri Feature

Why Apple's iOS 26.4 Siri Upgrade Will Be Bigger Than Originally Promised

Friday February 6, 2026 3:06 pm PST by
In the iOS 26.4 update that's coming this spring, Apple will introduce a new version of Siri that's going to overhaul how we interact with the personal assistant and what it's able to do. The iOS 26.4 version of Siri won't work like ChatGPT or Claude, but it will rely on large language models (LLMs) and has been updated from the ground up. Upgraded Architecture The next-generation...
iOS 26

iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Tuesday February 3, 2026 7:47 am PST by
While the iOS 26.3 Release Candidate is now available ahead of a public release, the first iOS 26.4 beta is likely still at least a week away. Following beta testing, iOS 26.4 will likely be released to the general public in March or April. Below, we have recapped known or rumored iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 features so far. iOS 26.3 iPhone to Android Transfer Tool iOS 26.3 makes it easier...
iphone 17 pro dark blue 1

iPhone 18 Pro Max Rumored to Deliver Next-Level Battery Life

Friday February 6, 2026 5:14 am PST by
The iPhone 18 Pro Max will feature a bigger battery for continued best-in-class battery life, according to a known Weibo leaker. Citing supply chain information, the Weibo user known as "Digital Chat Station" said that the iPhone 18 Pro Max will have a battery capacity of 5,100 to 5,200 mAh. Combined with the efficiency improvements of the A20 Pro chip, made with TSMC's 2nm process, the...

Top Rated Comments

cb3 Avatar
51 months ago
Did she build my iMac? ? I feel better already.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
swingerofbirch Avatar
51 months ago
It's BS.

If they put people first they would employ them rather than use loopholes to have them provide labor with none of the rights of an employee.

Their revenue per number of employees ratio is completely lopsided.

I get tired of repeating my same story as I have in other threads, but I was put to work for Apple through a disability agency in my state. I was trained by Apple—training I had to pay for. Apple paid nothing into Social Security payroll tax because they have you incorporate yourself as a corporation of one and then subcontract out to your corporation and you are an employee of yourself, despite the fact that you use their systems and work alongside all their other AppleCare employees and contractors. You are the "face" of Apple and yet have no official association with them. At the time I did this there were about 12 large corporations in the US contracted for AppleCare and Apple Sales in the US. All were pitted against each other with impossible metrics. And then those corporations had subcontractors as well. Apple did have its own internal AppleCare employees, as well, who got benefits and had employee rights. But you weren't allowed to transfer from contract status to employee status. In fact you weren't even allowed to talk to Apple. You have no labor rights. It's like you're a carpenter building a deck for someone. Except you use the homeowner's tools, the homeowner tells you how to build the deck, gives you constant feedback, and you work for the homeowner's customers, and there are thousands of you working for the homeowner. In short, it's nothing like building a deck for someone, but they use the labor laws (or lack of them) like it is. I could go on, but I've repeated this ad nauseam so many times.

It's basically Uber but worse because with Uber there is one group of people who at least know what's going on with each other. This is like if Uber secretly had 12 different companies that competed against each other providing the exact same Uber service but with different names so they didn't know they were competing with each other within the same company and each of the 12 companies had even more subcontractors and they were all pitted against each other on price, but despite being 12 different companies it was all Uber service.

I shouldn't write as I'm falling asleep, but I get tired of Apple's BS.

Instead of "investing" $50 million, pay the GD Social Security payroll tax you're avoiding on the non-employees who are doing the *exact* work of employees.

Edit:
The last time one of these reports came out, I let Apple know what I thought. And I got no response.

Their supplier feedback web-site is now a 404:
https://www.apple.com/feedback/supplierresponsibility.html
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Razorpit Avatar
51 months ago

That model is not an assembly worker. Where is the dark skinned worker who looks like they have been working 60 hours and is about to pass out? Apple’s sugar coating in action.
The media has you brain washed. There are some extremely attractive people working on assembly lines.


Obviously it’s not an assembly workers as she isn’t assembling a computer. This is a QA tester. As for the dark skinned thing, did Foxconn move their plant out of China suddenly?
It’s funny you mention that. All “western” factories have forced diversity. Try to find a “minority” in an “eastern“ facility.


It’s all assembled in China, and no one employed there is dark skinned.
Not everything Apple comes from China.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
man3ster Avatar
51 months ago
That model is not an assembly worker. Where is the dark skinned worker who looks like they have been working 60 hours and is about to pass out? Apple’s sugar coating in action.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
0924487 Avatar
51 months ago

That model is not an assembly worker. Where is the dark skinned worker who looks like they have been working 60 hours and is about to pass out? Apple’s sugar coating in action.
It’s all assembled in China, and no one employed there is dark skinned.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ComRadMac Avatar
51 months ago
Just your average factory worker, in full makeup and designer sweater. Totally normal.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)