New $304 million Apple campus planned in Austin, Texas
Consumers are petitioning Apple to make “ethical” iPhones and iPads after reports of labor abuses in its Chinese suppliers’ factories. (Photo by Feng Li/Getty Images)
Apple Inc. plans to build a new $304 million campus in Austin, Texas, that is expected to create more than 3,600 jobs.
Gov. Rick Perry announced the facility Friday. He said Apple’s new campus will more than double the number of workers Apple has in Texas during the next decade, The Associated Press reported.
The Cupertino, Calif., technology giant already employs thousands in Austin, whose tasks include handling customer complaints and support, Reuters reported.
"Our operations in Austin has grown dramatically over the past decade from less than 1,000 in 2004 to more than 3,500 today," Reuters reported Apple spokesman Steve Dowling as saying.
Apple will get $21 million through the Texas Enterprise Fund, created by the state Legislature in 2003 to lure businesses and job growth. Perry told the AP a local incentive agreement with Austin and Travis County was still pending.
Apple plans to add jobs in customer support, sales and accounting, the Austin Statesman reported.
In January, Applereported quarterly profits of $1 billion a week, blowing past Wall Street expectations on robust holiday sales of its iPhones and iPads, MSNBC reported.