Apple to Expand Seattle Presence With 2,000 New Hires Over Next 5 Years

[MacRumors]

Apple is planning to expand in Seattle with an additional 2,000 new hires over the course of the next five years, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan announced in a statement today.

333 Dexter, where Apple is rumored to be expanding in Seattle​

Apple has several offices in Seattle with teams working on iCloud, artificial intelligence, and Siri, and recent rumors suggested Apple was planning a major expansion, which has now been confirmed. From Durkan:

"These new jobs confirm what we already knew, we have the best talent and city anywhere. Apple's expanded footprint in Seattle is another example of the growing opportunity that exists for residents of Seattle and the economic powerhouse our City has become. Yet we know that as Seattle continues to grow, we must act urgently to address the pressures that follow - from tackling affordability to new affordable housing to increasing transit.

"By next year, an estimated 70% of jobs in Washington State will require some sort of post-secondary credential. It is my top priority that our kids growing up in Seattle today are prepared to fill the great engineering and computer science jobs that Apple announced today. That's why we created the Seattle Promise and the Opportunity Promise - so our youth are connected with resources and put on a path to the good paying jobs of Seattle's future."

Earlier this month, there were rumors that Apple was looking at leasing a large office complex in Seattle's South Lake Union neighborhood. Apple is said to be planning to occupy a two-tower building at 333 Dexter Avenue, which offers around 630,000 square feet of office space and could accommodate 4,200 employees.

Apple in late 2018 said that it would establish a new site in Seattle, which could be the large office building mentioned in rumors.

Apple already operates a major Seattle engineering hub focused on artificial intelligence and machine learning, and in 2018, expanded its office space at Two Union Square in downtown Seattle.

Article Link: Apple to Expand Seattle Presence With 2,000 New Hires Over Next 5 Years

 

[Dozer_Zaibatsu]

Less poop than SanFran, but definitely more than Cupertino. Good luck, future Seattlers.

 

[AvisDeene]

Would be nice if Apple would come to my desperate city of St Louis. But no one want to live in this humid, allergy prone hell hole ;_;

 

[trusso]

Not being flippant, but if 70% of your workforce requires post-secondary education, who's going to serve you food, ring up your groceries, or fix your plumbing?

Who can afford to?

 

[killawat]

Competition for these jobs will be fierce. Many AI and Siri related postings require published masters and phd candidates. Fantastic jobs if you qualify for them.

 

[JetTester]

Nice place to poach some tech employees!

 

[CWallace]

Not being flippant, but if 70% of your workforce requires post-secondary education, who's going to serve you food, ring up your groceries, or fix your plumbing?

Many of our grocery stores now have self-checkout (and you are not-so-subtly encouraged to use it by not manning the traditional stations during non-peak hours) and then of course we have Amazon Go where self-checkout is the only option. So that is one area covered, I guess.

The real answer is it will be people commuting in from the lower-cost extended suburbs (Seattle and it's satellite major cities have a pretty solid mass transit system that is actively being expanded).

 

[bensisko]

Not being flippant, but if 70% of your workforce requires post-secondary education, who's going to..

serve you food

Automated

ring up your groceries

Automated

or fix your plumbing?

Probably a Plumber (who has either apprenticed and/or has a certification).

 

[now i see it]

yet only a handful of people "invented" the iPhone. At this point, Apple could hire 100 million new employees and not much would change.
The human race has already been tapped out.

 

[jerryk]

Would be nice if Apple would come to my desperate city of St Louis. But no one want to live in this humid, allergy prone hell hole ;_;

You make sound so attractive! And what does that say about all the workers in the defense and bottling plants in the area?

[doublepost=1561416586][/doublepost]

Not being flippant, but if 70% of your workforce requires post-secondary education, who's going to serve you food, ring up your groceries, or fix your plumbing?

Who can afford to?

Not sure what education has to do with it. I have friends that are developers at big tech companies that never went to college.. But I understand your point. We have a friend that is a chef and was offered big money to oversee kitchens at some tech company. But the commute was too hard even for the big money, so he continues to run his food truck.

 

[Will.O.Bie]

Any time a big company creates more jobs in the USA, it's great for the economy and the community it's in. Two thousand jobs may not be a lot, but that's two thousand families that will benefit from this announcement.

I'm pretty sure someone will find something negative to say about this because, well, it's ingrained in a lot of people to complain about everything.

 

[RyanOH81]

We’d love to have Apple come to Cleveland. Cost of living is dirt cheap and there’s amazing real estate available.

 

[ulyssesric]

Not being flippant, but if 70% of your workforce requires post-secondary education, who's going to serve you food, ring up your groceries, or fix your plumbing?
Who can afford to?

Outsourcing.

This is how businesses going outside of U.S.

 

[cjboffoli97]

This news has me excited at the prospect of my brilliant, talented friends currently working in the same neighborhood for the galactic empire (LifeInvader) who might one day decamp and work for the rebellion. An Apple fanboi can dream! #DDHD

 

[Krizoitz]

Not being flippant, but if 70% of your workforce requires post-secondary education, who's going to serve you food, ring up your groceries, or fix your plumbing?

Who can afford to?

This is America in the 21st century, (and other highly developed 1st world nations). The kind of jobs that require less formal education (mining, manufacturing) have gone overseas where they are much much cheaper. They aren't coming back unless you can ban air travel and slow down sea based shipping. Affordable housing is absolutely an issue, but its not unique to Seattle by any means.

 

[kcslc]

Sounds like good news for my Capitol Hill real estate value. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[trusso]

Outsourcing.

This is how businesses going outside of U.S.

This is America in the 21st century, (and other highly developed 1st world nations). The kind of jobs that require less formal education (mining, manufacturing) have gone overseas where they are much much cheaper. They aren't coming back unless you can ban air travel and slow down sea based shipping. Affordable housing is absolutely an issue, but its not unique to Seattle by any means.

I get the automation argument from others, but you're telling me that service jobs (bartending, cashiering, waitressing, plumbing, etc.) which - by their very nature - must be done in person... are being outsourced?

Perhaps you misunderstood my original comment. Otherwise, I'm genuinely confused.

 

[libertysat]

Anyone here ever driven around Seattle?

2000 more cars
Worse than southern Ca now

 

[fastlanephil]

If this pertains to Apple’s Seattle expansion, I was told by some folks in the field that there is a over supply of programers in the Seattle area.

 

[Dozer_Zaibatsu]

Many of our grocery stores now have self-checkout (and you are not-so-subtly encouraged to use it by not manning the traditional stations during non-peak hours) and then of course we have Amazon Go where self-checkout is the only option. So that is one area covered, I guess.

The real answer is it will be people commuting in from the lower-cost extended suburbs (Seattle and it's satellite major cities have a pretty solid mass transit system that is actively being expanded).

I've been to Seattle. They have extremely narrow lanes of traffic and slow buses that you have to stand around and wait for. It's congested, hilly, and rainy, and terrible overall for biking. It's seems like a terrible city for commuting. Yet there is this "great public transportation system?" What am I missing?

 

[AngelsEmpire]

Wish they’d move more towards the East Coast.

 

[MacGurl111]

I've been to Seattle. They have extremely narrow lanes of traffic and slow buses that you have to stand around and wait for. It's congested, hilly, and rainy, and terrible overall for biking. It's seems like a terrible city for commuting. Yet there is this "great public transportation system?" What am I missing?

I live here. Everything you noted is true. There’s no great public transportation, unless they’re talking about the one that will be completed in 2030-the light rail.
With that said, we only have several of main freeways. The traffic is horrible no matter where you live and I live 20 minutes from Seattle.
[doublepost=1561433725][/doublepost]

Anyone here ever driven around Seattle?

2000 more cars
Worse than southern Ca now

Let’s not forget Amazon HQ2 will be setting up in Bellevue soon per Geekwire article.

 

[derek]

NO Apple! You do NOT want Microsoft's cast offs! Their best coders are bad enough!

 

[nexusrule]

Not being flippant, but if 70% of your workforce requires post-secondary education, who's going to serve you food, ring up your groceries, or fix your plumbing?

Who can afford to?

Maybe in America, in Europe, at least in the country I live in the effect of having a big percentage of educated and high salary populations it’s been that manual and service jobs are paid very well, well above the average of the other European countries even proportionally, and things worked out themselves.

 

[Mathriis]

yet only a handful of people "invented" the iPhone. At this point, Apple could hire 100 million new employees and not much would change.
The human race has already been tapped out.

How positive you are.