Tim Cook Named to California's Economic Recovery Task Force

California Governor Gavin Newsom today unveiled a new business recovery task force intended to guide the state as it gets its economy back up and running as coronavirus shutdowns begin to ease in the coming weeks and months, reports CNBC.

timcooktokyonikkei
The task force will be co-chaired by philanthropist Tom Steyer and Newsom's chief of staff Ann O'Leary, and it will be composed of more than 70 members including Apple CEO Tim Cook and Disney Executive Chairman Bob Iger.

The task force will reportedly meet twice a month through the end of the year.

Cook's participation on the task force comes just after a virtual company-wide meeting for Apple employees where Cook outlined some details on the current situation and how things will likely evolve going forward. Cook reiterated that Apple is in a strong financial position and that it will keep investing in its research and development efforts "in a really significant way" as it seeks to maintain as much momentum as possible coming out of the crisis.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Popular Stories

iphone 17 models

No iPhone 18 Launch This Year, Reports Suggest

Thursday January 1, 2026 8:43 am PST by
Apple is not expected to release a standard iPhone 18 model this year, according to a growing number of reports that suggest the company is planning a significant change to its long-standing annual iPhone launch cycle. Despite the immense success of the iPhone 17 in 2025, the iPhone 18 is not expected to arrive until the spring of 2027, leaving the iPhone 17 in the lineup as the latest...
duolingo ad live activity

Duolingo Used iPhone's Dynamic Island to Display Ads, Violating Apple Design Guidelines

Friday January 2, 2026 1:36 pm PST by
Language learning app Duolingo has apparently been using the iPhone's Live Activity feature to display ads on the Lock Screen and the Dynamic Island, which violates Apple's design guidelines. According to multiple reports on Reddit, the Duolingo app has been displaying an ad for a "Super offer," which is Duolingo's paid subscription option. Apple's guidelines for Live Activity state that...
Clicks Communicator Feature

'Clicks Communicator' Unveiled — Will You Carry This With Your iPhone?

Friday January 2, 2026 6:35 am PST by
The company behind the BlackBerry-like Clicks Keyboard accessory for the iPhone today unveiled a new Android 16 smartphone called the Clicks Communicator. The purpose-built device is designed to be used as a second phone alongside your iPhone, with the intended focus being communication over content consumption. It runs a custom Android launcher that offers a curated selection of messaging...
Low Cost MacBook Feature A18 Pro

Low-Price 12.9-Inch MacBook With A18 Pro Chip Reportedly Launching Early This Year

Friday January 2, 2026 9:08 am PST by
Apple plans to introduce a 12.9-inch MacBook in spring 2026, according to TrendForce. In a press release this week, the Taiwanese research firm said this MacBook will be aimed at the entry-level to mid-range market, with "competitive pricing." TrendForce did not share any further details about this MacBook, but the information that it shared lines up with several rumors about a more...
Low Cost A18 Pro MacBook Feature Pink

Apple's 2026 Low-Cost A18 Pro MacBook: What We Know So Far

Friday January 2, 2026 4:33 pm PST by
Apple is planning to release a low-cost MacBook in 2026, which will apparently compete with more affordable Chromebooks and Windows PCs. Apple's most affordable Mac right now is the $999 MacBook Air, and the upcoming low-cost MacBook is expected to be cheaper. Here's what we know about the low-cost MacBook so far. Size Rumors suggest the low-cost MacBook will have a display that's around 13 ...
Apple Fitness Plus hero

Apple Announces New Fitness+ Workout Programs, Strava Challenge, and More

Friday January 2, 2026 6:43 am PST by
Apple today announced a number of updates to Apple Fitness+ and activity with the Apple Watch. The key announcements include: New Year limited-edition award: Users can win the award by closing all three Activity Rings for seven days in a row in January. "Quit Quitting" Strava challenge: Available in Strava throughout January, users who log 12 workouts anytime in the month will win an ...
govee floor lamp

CES 2026: Govee Announces New Matter-Connected Ceiling and Floor Lights

Sunday January 4, 2026 5:00 am PST by
Govee today introduced three new HomeKit-compatible lighting products, including the Govee Floor Lamp 3, the Govee Ceiling Light Ultra, and the Govee Sky Ceiling Light. The Govee Floor Lamp 3 is the successor to the Floor Lamp 2, and it offers Matter integration with the option to connect to HomeKit. The Floor Lamp 3 offers an upgraded LuminBlend+ lighting system that can reproduce 281...

Top Rated Comments

Z400Racer37 Avatar
75 months ago
"Business recovery task force?" You need a task force to figure out the best way to improve your economy is to get the hell out of its way? Stop strangling people with absurdly high taxes, and ridiculous regulations and regulatory agencies? Is it that difficult to figure out after all that history?
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Duane Martin Avatar
75 months ago

Hopefully Cook tells Newsom that he recommends ALL public companies in CA should be Forced to Pay Off ALL their Long Term Debt BEFORE buying Back any more Shares, OR paying out any more Dividends !

And that Apple will lead the way by paying-off its $100B+ (USD) of Long Term Debt !
And all Californians can be thankful that someone with your complete lack of knowledge of economics and money management is not on the task force. The world is a little more complex than you perceive it to be. "Debt is bad" is an ideology, not a practical rationale for managing finances.


"Business recovery task force?" You need a task force to figure out the best way to improve your economy is to get the hell out of its way? Stop strangling people with absurdly high taxes, and ridiculous regulations and regulatory agencies? Is it that difficult to figure out after all that history?
Speaking of history how did the U.S. deregulation of the banking industry work out for the entire world in 2008? And why do tax breaks always seem to benefit those who least need them and not the most vulnerable? If only it was all as simple as you imagine it to be.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
citysnaps Avatar
75 months ago

Good. Now leave Apple and stay in politics... It's what you've stuck your nose into for the past decade plus anyway.
I'm guessing you are not aware that Apple has around 37,000 employees in California. And that Tim Cook, being the CEO of Apple and responsible for those 37,000 employees, thus has a large stake in how California's recovery is handled.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JPack Avatar
75 months ago
Let's hope there are also epidemiologists and doctors on this task force.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
konqerror Avatar
75 months ago

Hopefully Cook tells Newsom that he recommends ALL public companies in CA should be Forced to Pay Off ALL their Long Term Debt BEFORE buying Back any more Shares, OR paying out any more Dividends !

And that Apple will lead the way by paying-off its $100B+ (USD) of Long Term Debt !
You're saying Apple needs to spend their money to reduce debt with the lowest interest rates, instead of reducing higher effective interest rates, or investing in their business. Right.

Do you also pay off your mortgage before your credit cards?
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
citysnaps Avatar
75 months ago

Ideal job for Tim, not that we'd like you to leave Apple Timmey, but if you can let someone with a bit of product innovation ambition lead, consumers would benefit a bit more.
No worries, mate. Mr. Cook is doing a fine job leading Apple, as evidenced by the hundreds of millions of repeat customers who after considering competing products, open their wallets and pay premium prices for Apple computers and devices. Year after year after year.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)