GLASGOW, Feb 9 — Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook yesterday criticised a travel ban imposed by US President Donald Trump on seven Muslim-majority countries and urged people to speak out against it.
Cook said the ban created a ‘crisis’ and a stressful situation for some employees and their families.
“They happened to be outside the United States when the executive order was issued as all of a sudden their family is split. They couldn’t get back in and arguably that’s a crisis. Can you imagine that?” he told an audience of students at the University of Glasgow after being awarded an honorary doctorate of science.
Silicon Valley emerged as the most vocal corporate opponent to the immigration ban, as Cook and other CEOs such as Netflix’s Reed Hastings lashed out against it.
Shortly after the ban was announced, Cook sent a letter to employees saying Trump’s order was “not a policy we support” and promised to help affected employees.
“If we stand and say nothing, it’s as if we’re agreeing. That we’ve become a part of it and so I think it’s very important to speak out,” he said during his speech, adding that Apple relied of talent from around the world, with diversity being a core value of the company. — Reuters
