Apple Announces $1B Austin Campus, Investments In Cities Nationwide

With negative headlines swirling on the Street concerning Apple Inc. AAPL's iPhone, the tech company announced some feel-good news Thursday.

What Happened

Apple announced its decision to expand its operations in Austin, Texas, by building a new campus in North Austin that represents a $1-billion investment. 

The company's current facility at Austin was set up in 1992 and houses 6,200 employees, qualifying as its second biggest center of employment, according to Engadget.

The new Austin campus will sprawl over 133 acres and initially accommodate 5,000 employees, with the capacity for as many as 15,000 employees, Apple said. 

Apple said it also plans to establish new premises in Seattle, Washington and San Diego and Culver City, California, with 1,000 jobs to be added in each of these cities. Further expansions are planed in Pittsburgh, New York and Boulder, Colorado over the next three years.

Why It's Important

The announcement comes at a time when President Donald Trump is pushing for moving jobs back to the U.S. in a bid to boost domestic employment.

Apple said it has added about 6,000 jobs to the U.S. workforce in 2018 and remains well on track to achieve its target of adding 20,000 jobs domestically by 2023.

As of now, Apple employs about 90,000 people in 50 states.

The U.S. job market is truly live and kicking, with the economy having added over 180,000 jobs on an average over the past year. The unemployment rate is trending at a five-decade low of 3.7 percent.

Apple's proposed expansion into Seattle brings it closer to the headquarters of rivals Microsoft Corporation MSFT and Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN. In San Diego, it would be neighbor to QUALCOMM, Inc. QCOM, with which it is now locking horns over a patent dispute.

What's Next

Apple also stated that it would expand elsewhere in the U.S. over time.

Apart from adding jobs, Apple said it plans to invest $10 billion in U.S. data centers over the next five years.

Apple shares were trading up 1.4 percent at $171.47 at the time of publication Thursday. 

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Apple's Austin campus. Courtesy photo.