- By Akanimo Sampson
- Apple the previous week announced that it is accelerating its strategy for growth in the United States, with plans to make new contributions of more than $430 billion and add 20,000 new jobs across the country over the next five years.
- The Cupertino, California-based tech giant said its US investments will involve more than 9,000 suppliers and companies large and small in all 50 states, supporting job creation across dozens of sectors, including construction, silicon engineering, 5G and manufacturing.
- Apple also announced that it will invest over $1 billion in North Carolina, including the construction of a new campus and engineering hub in the Research Triangle area and $110 million in infrastructure improvements in the state including roads, bridges, schools and broadband.
In its second quarter earnings report last week, Apple said that its companywide sales were up 54% higher than last year, and the company reported significantly stronger profits than Wall Street analysts expected, according to CNBC.
Company executives have indicated in recent months that Apple has been boosted by the COVID-19 pandemic as consumers and businesses bought computers for work and entertainment while at home, CNBC said. But Apple’s strong results in the quarter suggest that the trend may persist as more economies open up, CEO Tim Cook said in a statement.”This quarter reflects both the enduring ways our products have helped our users meet this moment in their own lives, as well as the optimism consumers seem to feel about better days ahead for all of us,” he said.
In addition to the North Carolina campus, the company’s newly open and planned capital projects across the country include:
- Expansion of the company’s Culver City, California, campus to accommodate more than 3,000 employees by 2026.
- Construction of the company’s $1 billion Austin, Texas, campus (shown above), with employees expected to start moving into the new space next year.
- The company’s LEED-Platinum office space in Seattle’s South Lake Union neighborhood, which recently opened for 1,000 local employees.
- A new data center in Waukee, Iowa, which is expected to create over 500 construction and operations jobs.
- A new $100 million investment to open a state-of-the-art facility and distribution center in Clayton, Indiana, which will be operated by XPO Logistics.
- A new energy storage project in California’s Monterey County.
