Apple announced plans to boost its L.A. presence, saying it expects to have more than 1,000 employees in Culver City, Calif., over the next three years, including its growing entertainment team. The move is part of the tech giant’s broader initiative to create 20,000 jobs in the U.S. by 2023 and includes a new $1 billion facility in North Austin, Texas.
Earlier this year Apple agreed to lease a new 128,000-square-foot office building in Culver City, set to open in late 2019, after HBO nixed plans to move to the site. Apple is expected to move its Worldwide Video group, led by Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht, to the new facility. Lincoln Property Co. is developing the four-story project, which will feature floor-to-ceiling windows on its upper levels. Apple also has other office space in Culver City.
Apple announced its hiring projections and facilities expansion on Thursday, as part of ongoing lobbying efforts to demonstrate that it’s investing in American jobs and the U.S. economy. President Trump has criticized Apple for manufacturing its products in China and his saber-rattling about imposing tariffs on Chinese goods has contributed to pressure on tech stocks.
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Currently, Apple said, it employs 90,000 people in the U.S. The company’s new 133-acre campus in Austin will initially accommodate 5,000 employees, with the capacity to grow to 15,000, in addition to the 6,200 people who already work in the Austin area.
Apple set plans to expand to over 1,000 employees in Culver City and two other cities, Seattle and San Diego, by 2022. It also said it will add “hundreds” of new jobs in Pittsburgh, New York, Boulder, Colo., Boston and Portland, Ore.
Apple previously announced plans to invest $10 billion in U.S. data centers over the next five years, including $4.5 billion in 2018 and 2019. Apple’s data centers in North Carolina, Arizona and Nevada are currently being expanded, and its prepping a new facility in Waukee, Iowa.