“Apple Inc.’s plan to bring 3,600 new jobs to Austin is ‘in peril’ and the giant computer company is growing frustrated with delays in approving an incentives deal by the Travis County Commissioners Court, according to one of the key players in the local recruitment of the company,” Kirk Ladendorf and Farzad Mashhood report for The Austin American-Statesman.
“Dave Porter, senior vice president for economic development at the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, said Thursday that Apple’s plans to bring its Americas operations center to Austin are up in the air because of the county’s continuing deliberations and calls for new conditions on its incentives deal with the company,” Ladendorf and Mashhood report. “‘This deal is not done. It remains in peril. And Apple is frustrated,’ Porter said.”
“The county has been considering its offer to Apple since late March. Although the Commissioners Court gave initial approval to the deal April 17, the details of its incentives plan came back up for discussion on its latest meeting Tuesday. After hours of discussion, the county put off a final vote on the incentives contract until next week,” Ladendorf and Mashhood report. “Apple is proposing to create 3,600 new jobs in Austin over the next decade and invest $304 million here as part of its plan to create a major operations center here to run most of its business operations for North and South America.”
Ladendorf and Mashhood report, “The county’s decision to take another look at the incentives offer to Apple came after opponents of the deal raised questions at Tuesday’s Commissioners Court meeting. Bill Aleshire, an attorney and former Travis County judge, and Ed Wendler, an Austin-area developer, picked through the county’s draft final contract with Apple, pointing to parts of the contract they said will allow Apple to fall short of the requirements by the Commissioners Court. Responding to Porter’s comments that Apple is frustrated by the county’s most recent action, Aleshire said: ‘I’m not sorry that Apple is frustrated. … That’s a sorry contract.'”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Hey, whatever. You don’t want the jobs and all that comes with them, Travis County? That’s fine. There are plenty of places, run by people with brains, that do.
Hey, Travis County Commissioners, have fun come reelection time, ya hear? 😉
Related articles:
Travis County considers giving Apple 80% tax break for Austin campus – April 5, 2012
Austin city council unanimously approves $8.6 million dollars in incentives for Apple Inc. – March 23, 2012
Texas Governor Rick Perry announces Apple to invest $304 million, create 3,600 new jobs in Austin – March 9, 2012