“Apple Inc. has told officials in Mesa, Arizona, that it’s committed to bringing jobs and manufacturing to the area even after the bankruptcy of GT Advanced Technologies Inc., a supplier that was going to make sapphire screens for iPhones in the city,” Tim Higgins reports for Bloomberg. “”
“‘They’ve indicated their commitment to us: They want to repurpose that building and use it again,’ Mesa City Manager Christopher Brady said in a recent interview. Apple has said it’s focused “on preserving jobs in Arizona” and promised to ‘work with state and local officials as we consider our next steps,'” Higgins reports. “Mesa, a city of 450,000 on the outskirts of Phoenix, is trying to bounce back after GT Advanced’s sudden shutdown last month of a factory that employed more than 700 people.”
“Mesa and the state of Arizona fought hard to entice Apple to the more than 1.3 million-square-foot factory,” Higgins reports. “Community leaders worked to meet Apple’s demand that the facility use 100 percent renewable energy, and agreed to construct a new power substation for the plant. Apple also benefited from the state’s decision to designate the area around the building a foreign trade zone, cutting potential property taxes by more than 70 percent.”
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