Apple expansion plans include building a $1bn campus in Austin

13 Dec 2018

Apple logo on exterior wall. Image: bennymarty/Depositphotos

Apple has announced some major expansions on the cards in the US, including a brand new Texas campus.

Apple today (13 December) announced it is investing a cool $1bn in a new campus, to be located in the northern part of Austin, Texas.

The campus will be located a stone’s throw away from its existing Austin facilities and staff there will work in areas such as operations, finance, engineering, R&D and customer support.

Apple taking over Austin

The Austin space will initially create 5,000 jobs, with the potential for 10,000 more down the road. The company said it already employs 6,200 staff in the city.

The expansion will make Apple the largest private employer in Austin.

Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, said: “Apple is proud to bring new investment, jobs and opportunity to cities across the United States, and to significantly deepen our quarter-century partnership with the city and people of Austin.

“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.”

Texas governor Greg Abbott said: “I thank Apple for this tremendous investment in Texas, and I look forward to building upon our strong partnership to create an even brighter future for the Lone Star State.”

US expansion continues

As well as the Austin announcement, the company revealed that it will be opening new sites and adding more than 1,000 employees in Seattle, Culver City and San Diego over the next three years. Existing operations in New York, Boulder, Portland (Oregon), Boston and Pittsburgh are also on the cards for expansion.

In 2018, Apple added 6,000 jobs to its US workforce and is on course to create 20,000 jobs across the country by 2023. It also plans to invest $10bn in US data centres over the next five years, with its newest data centre set to be located in Waukee, Iowa. Data centres in North Carolina, Arizona and Nevada are also set to expand.

Just last month, Apple rival Amazon chose Long Island City in New York and Crystal City in Arlington, Virginia, as the two locations for its much-publicised second US headquarters. So far in New York, there has been some pushback against the proposal, with city council members denouncing some of the terms.

Apple logo on exterior wall. Image: bennymarty/Depositphotos

Ellen Tannam was a journalist with Silicon Republic, covering all manner of business and tech subjects

editorial@siliconrepublic.com