SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - Mayor Kevin Faulconer and officials with tech giant Apple announced 1,200 new jobs are coming to the San Diego region, with some of those new workers in place by the end of 2019.
The announcement, made Wednesday morning at the Apple store at UTC mall in University City, comes nearly three months after Apple revealed plans to open a new tech hub in San Diego with a promise to add 1,000 new employees over the next three years -- all part of the company’s nationwide expansion initiative.
Since then, plans have changed, with Apple now planning to add 1,200 jobs locally.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said of his company’s presence in San Diego: “Apple has been a part of San Diego for nearly 20 years through our retail presence and small, fast-growing teams – and with this new investment we are proud to play an even greater part in the city’s future. You don’t have to try too hard to convince people that San Diego is a great place to live, work and do business, and we’re confident our employees will have a great home among the community there.”
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According to city officials, San Diego “will become a principle engineering hub for Apple with new positions distributed across a number of specialty engineering fields, to include both hardware and software technologies.”
Multiple sources have told 10News that Apple is eyeing a move into a new building just southwest of Qualcomm’s main campus in University City, but Apple officials said a location for the new tech hub has not been decided.
City officials did say that “plans are also underway to develop a campus that will feature hundreds of thousands of square feet of office, lab and research space.”
Apple CEO Tim Cook said of his company’s presence in San Diego: “Apple has been a part of San Diego for nearly 20 years through our retail presence and small, fast-growing teams – and with this new investment we are proud to play an even greater part in the city’s future. You don’t have to try too hard to convince people that San Diego is a great place to live, work and do business, and we’re confident our employees will have a great home among the community there.”
“There isn’t a city in the U.S. that can offer the talent, infrastructure and community that San Diego can. I invited Apple to increase its growth in San Diego, and on behalf of a grateful city we’re delighted they accepted our invitation. Apple’s inventions have literally changed the world, revolutionizing how we communicate, create, do business and learn. As Apple continues to innovate and introduce new products, we will be proud to say that San Diego is a part of it,” Faulconer said.
There are currently 600 retail employees at Apple’s five stores in San Diego County.
