The mayor of Seattle confirmed today that Apple is making a major play to move into Amazon and Microsoft’s backyard.
During a press conference today, Mayor Jenny A. Durkan revealed that Apple plans to increase its expansion into Seattle by hiring an additional 2,000 employees in the next five years.
Rumors of the Seattle expansion have been percolating on the web for months now. Earlier this month news dropped that Apple secured a lease at the two building office complex on 333 Dexter Avenue. With 630,000 square feet of office space, it could hold up to 4,000 employees, but Apple will only hire half that amount for now.
Mayor Durkan said the new jobs confirm that Seattle has the best talent and city anywhere.
“Apple’s expanded footprint in Seattle is another example of the growing opportunity that exists for residents of Seattle and the economic powerhouse our City has become,” she said in a statement. “Yet we know that as Seattle continues to grow, we must act urgently to address the pressures that follow – from tackling affordability to new affordable housing to increasing transit.”
Over 500 Apple employees were working from the company’s Seattle hub as of last year. Most of the workers are focused on Apple’s artificial intelligence and machine learning efforts.
