Dive Brief:
- Apple will invest $1 billion to open a new campus in Austin, TX, and will also open new sites in Seattle, San Diego and Culver City, CA as part of a massive expansion in the United States. The company said it also plans to expand its presence in cities like Pittsburgh, New York and Boulder, CO over the next three years.
- The 133-acre Austin campus will initially support 5,000 employees, with the potential to accommodate 15,000 in engineering, research and development, customer service and finance. That’s on top of the 6,200 people Apple already employees there, and the expansion is expected to make Apple the largest private employer in the city.
- Reuters reports that Apple could be getting incentives through a $25 million grant from the Texas Enterprise Fund, and the Austin American-Statesman reports that Apple is seeking a 15-year property tax abatement from Williamson County for the new facility, although it got no incentives from the city of Austin.
Dive Insight:
Unlike Amazon, Apple did not hold a public bidding competition for its new office. Instead, the company announced last January that it would invest some $30 billion in the U.S. over the next five years, creating more than 20,000 jobs. Besides the new Austin campus, Apple will also add 1,000 jobs apiece in Seattle, San Diego and Culver City, CA, and will also invest $10 billion in U.S. data centers over the next five years.
“Talent, creativity and tomorrow’s breakthrough ideas aren’t limited by region or zip code, and, with this new expansion, we’re redoubling our commitment to cultivating the high-tech sector and workforce nationwide,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a statement.
The new campus furthers Austin’s reputation as a destination for tech employers. The University of Texas, the city’s strong labor force and appealing quality of life have made it a target for big firms (it was on the shortlist for Amazon’s HQ2). The U.S. Army in July announced plans to build a technology development center there, adding as many as 500 new jobs to the region.
The new Apple campus will include 50 acres set aside as a nature preserve and will be powered with 100% renewable energy, the company said.
