“One tech giant strung dozens of North American cities through a circus-like contest that led mayors and governors to desperately pitch their regions — and offer huge sums of public money — in hopes of landing a gleaming new corporate campus,” Michael Liedtke, Matt O’Brien, and Will Weissert report for The Associated Press. “The other swept in quietly before making its big move.”
“The outcome was largely the same: Amazon and Apple are running out of room in their West Coast hometowns and establishing a major foothold in a handful of U.S. cities already known as second-tier technology hubs,” Liedtke, O’Brien, and Weissert report. “But this week, at least, Apple may have won the prize for completing its search with the fewest hurt feelings.”
“Apple announced plans Thursday to build a $1 billion campus in Austin, Texas,” Liedtke, O’Brien, and Weissert report. “The decision comes 11 months after Apple CEO Tim Cook disclosed plans to open a major office outside California on the heels of a massive tax cut on overseas profits, which prompted the company to bring about $250 billion back to the U.S… Cities around the country offered financial incentives in an attempt to land Apple’s new campus, but Cook avoided a high-profile competition that pitted them against one another, as Amazon had before deciding to build huge new offices in New York and Virginia.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Once again, congrats to Austin, Seattle, San Diego, Culver City, Pittsburgh, New York, Boulder, and the areas of Apple expansion!
SEE ALSO:
What Apple’s new U.S. job additions tell us about their future product plans – December 14, 2018
Apple to build new $1 billion, 133-acre campus in Austin and add jobs across America – December 13, 2018
While it would be too strong a statement to say that Apple screwed up by not building in VA, it could well have been a missed opportunity. An Apple with a large local presence in the DC area would likely go a long way for larger adoption of Apple products and services by the Government itself. Use of iPhones is now widespread, but Mac usage hasn’t budged.
Apple doesn’t care about Mac.
Most excellent point, RobC.
Northern VA west of the Washington beltway off Route 66 would be an excellent location for all the reasons you mentioned, particularly courting and servicing official U.S. government. What are they thinking?
The Haymarket area is idyllic country with room for expansion. Many millionaires and billionaires live in the area like Robert Duvall and the Mars candy fortune.
Instead, Apple chose another limited mindset hip liberal city in a blue state. Gee, what a surprise.
Now, what would be a total surprise is Apple thinking different. Move on from Democrat politics and locate in a rust belt depressed area and help to revitalize and rebuild the local economy.
The liberal employees will unfortunately have to adjust to life with country music, church goers, hunters and gun owners, shot and beer pool bars, convenience store coffee lattes and lack of sushi bars. Actually, they would get an education in flyover country first hand of salt of the earth people. Provided they don’t look down their nose and accept reality with minds wide open.
Somehow and I’m not clairvoyant, will never happen….