Apple Eyes Austin For New $1B Campus; More Expansions Announced

Apple is planning big moves outside of California. The iPhone maker is building a new $1 billion campus in Austin, Texas, and it is also setting up a large office in Seattle.

On Thursday, Apple (AAPL) announced on its online newsroom its plan to build a new campus in North Austin with a budget of $1 billion. The facility will span 133 acres and will initially accommodate 5,000 employees. The capacity is then expected to grow to 15,000, making Apple the largest employer in the city.

“Apple is proud to bring new investment, jobs and opportunity to cities across the United States and to significantly deepen our quarter-century partnership with the city and people of Austin,” CEO Tim Cook said.

For its expansion in Austin, Apple is getting some incentives in the form of a $25 million grant from the state and tax abatements amounting to tens of millions of dollars, according to Ina Fried of Axios.

Apple’s deep ties with Austin started way back in 1992, when the company was still led by then-CEO John Sculley. At the time, the technology company only had fewer than 100 jobs in the area. Apple has since come a long way, with 6,200 jobs at present.

“Apple has been a vital part of the Austin community for a quarter century, and we are thrilled that they are deepening their investment in our people and the city we love,” Austin Mayor Steve Adler said.

The American tech giant also has expansion plans in other parts of the country. It is building a large office in Seattle to welcome over 1,000 additional employees. It is also adding hundreds of jobs in New York, Boston, Pittsburgh, Boulder and Portland, Oregon.

Apple has planned expansions within California as well. It is expanding its San Diego and Culver City facilities to accommodate thousands of additional workers.

CNBC has learned that Apple is also thinking of investing $10 billion in U.S. data centers in the next five years. The company confirmed that it is building a new data center in Waukee, Iowa.

From the looks of things, Apple is working to keep its word of creating more jobs in the U.S. by expanding its domestic operations. This year alone, the Cupertino giant added 6,000 jobs. It is now on track to realize its goal of adding 20,000 domestic jobs by 2023.