Apple's $304 million Austin campus approved

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Apple's plans to expand its operations in Austin, Texas have now gotten the seal of approval from the local county's government. The Austin-American Statesman reports that Travis County Commissioners Court voted 4-1 to approve the $305 million Apple operations center.

For a few days, it was looking like the deal wouldn't happen at all. This was due to the commissioners delaying a vote on the operations center as they debated the specifics of the incentives they were willing to give Apple. In the end, the commissioners voted to give Apple between $5.4 million and $6.4 million in tax rebates over 15 years.

Travis County's incentive package is on top of a previously approved deal with the city of Austin itself, which gives Apple an even larger $8.6 million tax rebate over 10 years. The state of Texas also chipped in, offering to give Apple a whopping $21 million in incentives.

Apple claims it will hire 3,665 people by the year 2025 for the Austin, Texas campus. According to the contact, Apple must offer an average yearly salary of $35,000 for the bottom 10 percent of its Austin campus workers; the center's contractors must also be paid a minimum of $11 an hour.

Source