Officials with Apple announced plans Monday to invest more than $1 billion to create a new campus in North Carolina, a hub that would be the tech juggernaut’s first on the East Coast. In a statement, company officials said the investment would go toward creating a new campus and engineering hub in the Research Triangle area and creating more than 3,000 new jobs in fields including machine learning, artificial intelligence and software engineering. The positions are expected to offer salaries that average $187,000 annually — more than double the average annual wage of about $64,000 in Wake County — starting in 2023, according to The News & Observer and the North Carolina Department of Commerce. As part of the investment plan, Apple officials said they will also establish a $100 million fund to support schools and community initiatives in the state. The company said it expects to generate more than $1.5 billion in economic benefits each year for North Carolina.
“As a North-Carolina native, I’m thrilled Apple is expanding and creating new long-term job opportunities in the community I grew up in,” Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer, said in a statement. “We’re proud that this new investment will also be supporting education and critical infrastructure projects across the state. Apple has been a part of North Carolina for nearly two decades, and we’re looking forward to continuing to grow and a bright future ahead.”
Officials in North Carolina have been courting Apple for the last three years in hopes of getting a company campus in the state, according to The News & Observer. The newly announced hub will be at least 1 million square feet and powered entirely by renewable energy, officials with the North Carolina Department of Commerce said Monday.
The announcement came on the same day that the state’s Economic Investment Committee voted to approve of a Job Development Investment Grant for Apple, which will reimburse the company as much as $845.8 million over the next 39 years. Commerce Department officials said Apple’s plans are estimated to grow the state’s economy by nearly $80 billion in that same time frame.
“For many years, a dedicated group of economic development partners worked to bring this investment to Wake County,” State Sen. Sydney Batch said Monday. “I’m pleased to see the result of their efforts pay off, and I know they will continue to provide the support Apple and its new employees will need as the company opens its new campus.”
Apple aims to invest $430 billion and create 20,000 jobs across the U.S. over the next five years in several states, including California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Texas, Washington and Iowa.
“At this moment of recovery and rebuilding, Apple is doubling down on our commitment to US innovation and manufacturing with a generational investment reaching communities across all 50 states,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said Monday. “We’re creating jobs in cutting-edge fields — from 5G to silicon engineering to artificial intelligence — investing in the next generation of innovative new businesses, and in all our work, building toward a greener and more equitable future.”
Officials did not immediately release a timeline for the project.
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