Now that Apple is making products in the U.S.A., every state wants to be in on the action. Especially Arizona, who was so determined to get Cupertino to choose the pretty town of Mesa as the location of its upcoming sapphir glass factory that they offered significant benefits — including tax breaks — to get Apple to move in.
Sayeth Bloomberg:
Mesa pulled out the stops. The city, which was ravaged by the 2007 housing crash, offered tax breaks, built power lines, fast-tracked building permits and got the state to declare a vacant 1.3 million-square-foot facility that Apple was exploring a foreign trade zone. With unemployment high, such are the lengths that towns are willing to go to to lure the world’s most valuable company.
“Any time you have a company like Apple come in and invest in your area, especially with this type of operation, it’s significant,” said Smith, who triumphed late last year when Apple spent $114 million to buy the factory. The mayor celebrated by placing bowls of green and red apples in City Hall.
According to estimates, the new facility will create 700 jobs in the first year, as well as 1,300 construction and other associated jobs.
Current rumors state that the iPhone 6 will replace Gorilla Glass for ultra-hard sapphire glass. Could iPhone screen protectors soon be a thing of the past?
Source: Bloomberg
