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Apple announces new $1 billion Austin campus as part of big US expansion

Apple announces new $1 billion Austin campus as part of big US expansion

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Without resorting to a theatrical, year-long city auditioning process

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Image: Apple

Apple has announced a big expansion of its US operations, at the heart of which is a new $1 billion campus in Austin, its third in the city. Apple’s approach comes in marked contrast to Amazon’s recent search for the location of its second headquarters, which over the course of a year saw numerous cities publicly compete to offer the biggest incentives for the e-commerce giant. New York’s decision to offer around $2 billion in incentives to Amazon has drawn particularly fierce and ongoing criticism.

Along with the 6,200 employees that Apple already has in the city, its new 133-acre development is expected to make it the largest private employer in Austin. Apple expects the new campus to accommodate 5,000 employees at first, though it will ultimately have a total capacity of 15,000. The new Austin campus will handle tasks ranging from engineering to customer support for the company. Like all Apple’s other facilities worldwide, the facility will run on 100 percent renewable energy.

Apple’s expansion plans will include multiple states across the US.
Apple’s expansion plans will include multiple states across the US.
Image: Apple

Along with its new Austin campus, Apple has also announced expansions across a number of other US cities. Seattle, San Diego, and Culver City will each grow to have over 1,000 employees apiece, and Apple also plans to expand its operations in Pittsburgh, New York, and Boulder, Colorado, over the next three years. In total, Apple employs 90,000 people across the US, and has over 1,000 employees per state across 16 states. At the beginning of 2018, Apple committed to $350 billion of investment into the US economy, and today’s announcement is one part of that spending, showing a rich company willing to pursue its plans without playing cities off against one another.