Case 5:19-cv-00036-RWS Document 66-4 Filed 08/27/19 Page 1 of 5 PageID #: 2752
`Case 5:19-cv-00036—RWS Document 66-4 Filed 08/27/19 Page 1 of 5 PageID #: 2752
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`EXHIBIT 3
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`EXHIBIT 3
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`Case 5:19-cv-00036-RWS Document 66-4 Filed 08/27/19 Page 2 of 5 PageID #: 2753
`Documents: Apple has created over 2,000 Austin jobs since 2012 - News - Austin Ameri… Page 1 of 4
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`Documents: Apple has created over 2,000 Austin jobs
`since 2012
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`By Lori Hawkins
`Posted Apr 29, 2016 at 12:01 AM
`Updated Sep 24, 2018 at 11:12 AM
`Technology giant Apple Inc. has created more than 2,000 new jobs in Austin since 2012 and
`remains on track to meet the Central Texas hiring goals it promised in exchange for millions
`of dollars in public incentives, according to documents filed with the city of Austin.
`
`Apple, which disappointed investors last week with troubling financial information, is set to
`receive $35 million in tax incentives over the next several years from the city of Austin, Travis
`County and the state of Texas for an expansion of its operations in Central Texas.
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`The expansion is expected to generate a $304 million capital investment in the Northwest
`Austin campus, which will include seven new office buildings with 1 million or more square
`feet of space.
`
`Under the terms of the incentives package, which was signed in March 2012, Apple agreed to
`create more than 3,600 new full-time jobs in Austin in 10 years while retaining at least 3,100
`existing full-time jobs year over year. The average wage for those new jobs is to be $54,000 a
`year in the first year of the expansion and will stretch to $73,500 in the 10th year, according to
`the incentives agreement.
`
`In 2012, the Austin City Council approved $8.6 million in tax breaks for Apple in exchange for
`establishing its Americas Operations Center here. Apple also is in line for between $5 million
`and $6 million from Travis County.
`
`Apple, the world’s largest consumer electronics company, said last year that it was well ahead
`of hiring projections. A more recent report — filed March 10 by Terry Ryan, Apple’s senior tax
`manager — indicates that the company continues to outpace the requirements.
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`https://www.statesman.com/news/20160429/documents-apple-has-created-over-2000-austi… 8/9/2019
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`Case 5:19-cv-00036-RWS Document 66-4 Filed 08/27/19 Page 3 of 5 PageID #: 2754
`Documents: Apple has created over 2,000 Austin jobs since 2012 - News - Austin Ameri… Page 2 of 4
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`As of Dec. 31, the total number of full-time Apple jobs in Austin was 5,102, according to the
`company’s report. That includes 2,089 new jobs that been created since 2012, according to the
`report — an average of more than 550 a year. (The agreement calls for Apple to create 300 new
`jobs by the end of 2016.)
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`In addition, there were 904 contract employees as of the last day of 2015, the report said.
`
`If Apple ultimately reaches its hiring goals, it will become the second-largest technology
`employer in Central Texas, behind only Dell Inc.
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`The Apple campus in Northwest Austin off Parmer Lane will eventually consist of 1.1 million
`square feet of office space covering 38 acres.
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`RALPH BARRERA/ AMERICAN-STATESMAN
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`In a written statement, Apple said: “We’re incredibly proud that Apple’s innovation supports
`tens of thousands of jobs across a wide range of industries in Texas. Apple started in Austin 24
`years ago and we’ve grown to support over 6,000 employees in a variety of roles from sales,
`operations and finance to our online store, engineering and the best customer support
`organization in the world. We also partner with a number of companies in Texas to source
`materials and components for our products, including the manufacturing and assembly of Mac
`Pro just down the road. Austin is a special community and we look forward to continuing to
`grow and invest here.”
`
`Apple’s new Austin campus, at West Palmer Lane and Delcour Drive, is responsible for
`running the company’s business operations for the entire Western Hemisphere. In addition to
`the limestone-and-glass office buildings, the 38-acre site includes restaurants; smoothie and
`coffee bars; a full-scale gym with saunas and a wellness center with services including medical,
`dental and eye care along with acupuncture and massage.
`
`The campus, which is scheduled to be completed this year, employs workers in finance, human
`resources, corporate sales, customer support, information systems, accounting and other
`administrative roles.
`
`The new campus is just part of Apple’s growth plan in Austin. Last year, the company bought
`the nearby Riata Crossing complex, which has four buildings with 350,000 square feet of space,
`which the company had been leasing.
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`https://www.statesman.com/news/20160429/documents-apple-has-created-over-2000-austi… 8/9/2019
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`Case 5:19-cv-00036-RWS Document 66-4 Filed 08/27/19 Page 4 of 5 PageID #: 2755
`Documents: Apple has created over 2,000 Austin jobs since 2012 - News - Austin Ameri… Page 3 of 4
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`It also signed a lease for the entire 216,000-square-foot Capital Ridge office building under
`construction in Southwest Austin. The company isn’t saying what work will be done at the
`various locations.
`
`Apple already has accepted two sizable payments from the Texas Enterprise Fund, which was
`created in 2003 to attract new jobs and investment to the state. The state gave the company
`$5.25 million in September 2012 and another payment of the same amount in December 2015.
`The total award from the Texas Enterprise Fund will reach $21 million over a decade.
`
`Jon Hockenyos, an Austin economist, said the types of jobs Apple is creating at the campus are
`a key component to the region’s economy.
`
`“These are the equivalent of manufacturing jobs in the old days — they’re jobs that pay a solid
`wage,” he said. “They provide solid middle-class incomes that sustain families. They’re the kind
`of jobs any city wants to see being created.”
`
`Hockenyos said Apple’s recent woes — the company last week posted its first quarterly revenue
`decline in 13 years — are unlikely to affect its Austin operations.
`
`“They’re facing some challenges, but a lot of what Apple does here is core to its business —
`things they have to do to continue to stay in business,” he said. “Because of that, the issues they
`face probably won’t be felt here as much as they might in other places.”
`
`In fact, Austin economist Brian Kelsey said, Apple could provide stability to Austin’s economy
`if the technology industry were to experience a downturn.
`
`“We’re in the longest streak of economic expansion since the late 1990s, but Austin is still
`primarily a startup town,” Kelsey said. “That’s important to keep in mind because
`entrepreneurship can be a shaky foundation for economic development when the business
`cycle starts to turn.”
`
`Large players operating like Apple aren’t immune to a global slowdown, Kelsey said. “But they
`can provide some stability, making Austin more resilient to changing conditions,” he said.
`
`Government officials shouldn’t be too concerned with Apple’s recent earnings report, said
`Patrick Moorhead, president and principal analyst at Moor Insights and Strategy.
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`https://www.statesman.com/news/20160429/documents-apple-has-created-over-2000-austi… 8/9/2019
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`Case 5:19-cv-00036-RWS Document 66-4 Filed 08/27/19 Page 5 of 5 PageID #: 2756
`Documents: Apple has created over 2,000 Austin jobs since 2012 - News - Austin Ameri… Page 4 of 4
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`Apple might have frustrated investors, but it’s “way too early to be concerned” in Austin,
`Moorhead said.
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`“Apple, unlike other companies, didn’t invest too far forward related to its commitments in
`Austin. In fact, given their profitability and revenue base, they may not have enough space for
`everything they need to do,” Moorhead said.
`
`If profits are most important, Moorhead said, then “Apple should consider moving even more
`functions to Austin from expensive California.”
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`https://www.statesman.com/news/20160429/documents-apple-has-created-over-2000-austi… 8/9/2019
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