Apple to decide location of new campus without public bidding process

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2018
Following comments from CEO Tim Cook on Wednesday, Apple on Thursday confirmed it will not hold a public auction to decide the site of a new U.S. campus that will be built in part using money repatriated from the company's overseas cash hoard.




In a statement to Reuters, an Apple representative confirmed the company does not plan to hold a public bidding process for the planned campus, which will initially be populated by AppleCare workers.

The announcement echoes statements Cook made in an ABC News interview on Wednesday, where the Apple chief said he does not want "an auction kind of process" to decide the location of the upcoming campus.

"We've narrowed the list a lot," Cook said of candidate sites. "We wanted to narrow it so we prevent this auction kind of process that we want to stay out of."

With millions or billions of dollars in investment capital on the line, a number of U.S. cities are throwing their hat into the ring. According to the report, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is among those pushing to be in Apple's good graces.

"We're going to go compete and were going to put our best foot forward," Emanuel said.

Apple revealed plans to build a new U.S. campus on Wednesday as part of a huge $350 billion infusion into the U.S. economy. The company remains mum on the exact size of the facility, and has deferred comment on a final location to later this year.

As noted by the report, Apple's non-bid strategy runs counter to another high-profile campus project currently underway at Amazon. The online retail giant is accepting bids for a $5 billion headquarters dubbed "HQ2," which will house up to 50,000 employees. On Thursday, Amazon said it had narrowed down the list of candidate locations to 20 cities, 19 in the U.S. and Toronto.

Alongside the planned campus, Apple is earmarking $10 billion for data center expansions, $4 billion for its Advanced Manufacturing Fund and an undisclosed amount for educational initiatives. The influx of cash is expected to generate some 20,000 jobs and pump $38 billion in taxes into federal government coffers.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 13
    No comments?!! Whassa matter, can't reach your keyboards from the fetal position?

    Go Apple! Continuing to hoe its own row, taking the best route for predicting the future—by CREATING it!!!
    edited January 2018 edredStrangeDays
  • Reply 2 of 13
    cgWerkscgWerks Posts: 2,952member
    Toronto? What about Vancouver? :)
    (And, would those be US jobs then?)

    Looks like the new tax plan is enjoying some success... but I'm sure the gov't will find a way to waste any gains as they always seem to. How about some new missile defense systems? https://congressionaldish.com/cd165-christmas-dingleberries/ ;
    baconstang
  • Reply 3 of 13
    dewmedewme Posts: 5,335member
    I find Apple’s approach much more dignified. You know that the city that lands a major relocation or new facility like this has basically bent the local/county/state taxpayers over the table to close the deal. Like Wisconsin and Foxconn. When it’s done out in the open with all of the other contenders watching it’s somewhat demeaning, sets unrealistic expectations, and demoralizes the “losers.” It takes on the air of a farcical beauty contest without any bribery restrictions. Sorry.
    edited January 2018 tokyojimubaconstanggoodbyeranchGG1StrangeDays
  • Reply 4 of 13
    Seriously thinking about launching an auction in which city I should do my shopping next time. 

    I agree with what is said above about auctions vs no auction. Provided the required level of transparency is maintained. 
  • Reply 5 of 13
    ksecksec Posts: 1,569member
    dewme said:
    I find Apple’s approach much more dignified. You know that the city that lands a major relocation or new facility like this has basically bent the local/county/state taxpayers over the table to close the deal. Like Wisconsin and Foxconn. When it’s done out in the open with all of the other contenders watching it’s somewhat demeaning, sets unrealistic expectations, and demoralizes the “losers.” It takes on the air of a farcical beauty contest without any bribery restrictions. Sorry.
    Well I read somewhere this HQ belongs to CS and Support. So it isn't really a HQ per se like Apple Park or Amazon HQ2.
  • Reply 6 of 13
    I cringe at any of these campuses coming anywhere near my vicinity.  After living in the Bay Area the last few years (and relocating due to the ever-increasing cost of living there), I warm these cities who compete for these jobs to be ready to invest heavily in infrastructure (with tax dollars they won’t get from the business), otherwise the surrounding area will become quickly inundated with traffic, overcrowded schools, and (worst of all) exorbitant housing prices. Politicians are so short-sighted to think these bids are some sort of panacea for their constituents; it’s a death knell. They won’t be equipped to handle it, like kids on Christmas opening 15 presents who end up playing with the wrapping paper. If I were a city, this would be my bid: f&ck off.
    edred
  • Reply 7 of 13
    Apple knows that they didn't really need a tax cut, thus the current public relations blitz.
  • Reply 8 of 13
    fallenjt said:
    jonagold said:
    I cringe at any of these campuses coming anywhere near my vicinity.  After living in the Bay Area the last few years (and relocating due to the ever-increasing cost of living there), I warm these cities who compete for these jobs to be ready to invest heavily in infrastructure (with tax dollars they won’t get from the business), otherwise the surrounding area will become quickly inundated with traffic, overcrowded schools, and (worst of all) exorbitant housing prices. Politicians are so short-sighted to think these bids are some sort of panacea for their constituents; it’s a death knell. They won’t be equipped to handle it, like kids on Christmas opening 15 presents who end up playing with the wrapping paper. If I were a city, this would be my bid: f&ck off.
    Newbie’s comment is very useless!


    Newbie's comment is on bloody point.  Depending on the size of the facility, and how many employees there are, a city without the appropriate infrastructure will suffer the kinds of things the OP pointed out, e.g. traffic, housing prices, etc.  Maybe not all, and depending on the area, some might be more severe than others, but at least some of them will show up.  And with the kinds of tax incentives these types of things usually entail for the incoming company, it's not always economically feasible to change that infrastructure in a reasonable time.

    I'm sure Apple is smart enough to pick a site that has, or shortly will have, the type of infrastructure needed to support the facility they're planning though, so I wouldn't expect that to be a huge problem in whatever site that is.  I can hope anyway. :)

    cgWerks
  • Reply 9 of 13
    wood1208wood1208 Posts: 2,905member
    Apple should build East Coast campus, may be in North Carolina, Raleigh area. Apple has data center in NC.
    edited January 2018 netmage
  • Reply 10 of 13
    netmagenetmage Posts: 314member
    wood1208 said:
    Apple should build East Coast campus, may be in North Carolina, Raleigh area. Apple has data center in NC.
    Since Amazon is also considering Raleigh, it could be a double win in my extended neighborhood.
  • Reply 11 of 13
    Good, Amazon’s approach sounds like bad reality TV, with “loser” cities sequentially being “fired.” Classless 
  • Reply 12 of 13
    Also a bit like King Lear. Who will flatter me the most?
  • Reply 13 of 13
    cgWerkscgWerks Posts: 2,952member
    jonagold said:
    ... I warm these cities who compete for these jobs to be ready to invest heavily in infrastructure (with tax dollars they won’t get from the business), otherwise the surrounding area will become quickly inundated with traffic, overcrowded schools, and (worst of all) exorbitant housing prices. Politicians are so short-sighted ...
    I generally agree. These deals are typically structured in a short-sighted way for political points. But, if done correctly, they can have a huge impact. I remember before the Olympics came to Vancouver that the story was it would really boost the economy. As usually, stuff ran well over budget and such, and was criticized. Few believed it would really help in the long-term (including me). But, we were wrong. The 'not on paper' aspect was that it put Vancouver on the map in a world-context unlike it had been in the past. Check the economy and housing prices there now.

    The concept works well, it's the implementation that is usually the problem.
    beowulfschmidt
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