At a Thursday meeting, the Austin, TX city council unanimously approved $8.6 million in incentives for Apple, to expand their offices in that city.
The incentives would help Apple almost double its offices in Austin, and the initial $8.6 million would only be a portion of the potential total package. Travis County will also decide to approve an additional $6 million, and with possible extra funds from the state of Texas, the incentives package could total $35 million.
This would bring in about 3,600 new jobs, something the city deemed to big to pass on. Council member Bill Spelman explained, “we have thousands of people who are unemployed or underemployed who are looking for jobs, or better jobs than they’ve got right now, to make a living wage – I think we’ve got an obligation to make that available to them.”
If Apple decides to expand in Austin, it would become the second largest private employer in the city, behind Dell.
If Apple makes the move, it would make them the second largest private employer in Austin right behind Dell. The average salary for employees comes in at just over $64,000 a year.
