Apple’s second-largest talent centre comes at Austin

Down a winding road off Research Boulevard in Northwest Austin, Apple has, without much fanfare transformed 38 acres of wooded land into its second-largest operation in the world.

When the California-based technology giant's campus is completed in 2016, it would include seven limestone-and-glass office buildings with a combined 1.1 million square feet of space with restaurants, smoothie and coffee bars along with a full-scale gym with two saunas and a spa-like wellness centre with services including medical, dental and eye care, acupuncture and massage.

Four of the campus buildings had so far, already opened, and by the time the construction of the site is ready, it would also employ thousands of maintenance workers, at an average wage of $54,000 a year.

Denise Young-Smith, head of human resources at Apple, said the talent pool at Austin and cultural diversity had attracted the company.

''Austin has always been a voice and proponent of diversity and inclusiveness'', Young Smith said. ''And there is also diversity in terms of talent, including the music and artistic community''.

The Chinese stock market upheavals had not been able to dent Apple as it continued to grow, reporting a bump in income in the course of the third quarter as demand continued to surge.

Meanwhile, the Austin American-Statesman reported that the tech giant was transforming a 38-acre wooded lot into its largest global operation outside of Silicon Valley.

If Apple were to reach the hiring figures of 3,600 new jobs while retaining 3,100 existing jobs it had projected, it would become the second-largest technology employer in Central Texas behind Dell Inc, which counted around 14,000 local workers.

The company also agreed to spend $282 million on new buildings and equipment in Austin over the next decade.

Apple's new campus was responsible for running the company's business operations for the Western Hemisphere.

''It will help create a new wave of talent,'' Mark McClain, CEO of Austin software maker SailPoint and chairman of the Austin Technology Council, told the newspaper. ''Some people will come to work for Apple and get the entrepreneurial bug and go start a company. Others will eventually leave to join local tech companies that need their expertise.''

Young-Smith said the company was drawn not only by Austin's talent pool but also because of its cultural diversity.

''Austin has always been a voice and proponent of diversity and inclusiveness,'' Young Smith said. ''And there is also diversity in terms of talent, including the music and artistic community. We like that cross-pollination, and the job candidates that have been able to hire because of it.''