MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Apple pledges to build a “Silicon Valley” in Texas: US$ 1bn investment

Apple already employs 6,200 staff at its current facilities in Austin, making it the company's biggest base outside its home at Cupertino in California's Silicon Valley

Apple has announced plans to build a new campus in Austin, Texas, saying the project will involve a one-billion-dollar investment. The company already has an existing base in the city. The iPhone-maker said it expected the latest move would eventually make it in the state's capital biggest private employer.

One expert said the area had a big pool of talent to draw on but was no longer cheaper to hire in than Silicon Valley.

Intel's Atom computer processors were developed at its facility in the city. Dell, Amazon, Samsung, Facebook, Google and IBM are among other large local employers.

“There's a lot of computer chip expertise but Texas is also a massive hotbed for the data-centre industry,” said independent technology analyst Chris Green.

“It also has a reputation for its traditional entertainment media scene as well as social-media development, with lots spurred on by the South by Southwest festival and other technology gatherings that have made Austin their home.”

Apple already employs 6,200 staff at its current facilities in Austin, making it the company's biggest base outside of its home at Cupertino in California's Silicon Valley.

It said the new 133-acre campus would initially be home to 5,000 new workers but had the capacity to accommodate 15,000. The new posts, it said, would include roles in its engineering, research and development, and sales divisions.

The company also said it planned new sites in Seattle, San Diego and Culver City over the next three years. The announcements follow an earlier commitment made in January to create 20.000 new jobs in the US by 2023.
At present, the company employs about 90,000 people in the country, including staff in its retail stores. Apple and other American technology companies have faced calls from President Trump to boost employment in their home country.

Most recently, the president threatened to add tariffs to iPhones and other Apple products manufactured in China if trade negotiations with Beijing did not go the way he wanted.

Last month, Amazon announced plans to build new campuses in New York and near Washington DC as part of its own job-creation plans.