Ondrej Holzman After the collapse of GT Advanced Technologies, which was supposed to produce sapphire for apple products, Apple pledged not to leave Mesa, Arizona, where the giant factory complex is located. In Arizona, Apple is going to secure new jobs and rebuild the factory so that it can be used for other purposes.
"They indicated their commitment to us: they want to remodel and reuse the building," he said, according to Bloomberg Christopher Brady, Mesa City Administrator. Apple is focused "on keeping jobs in Arizona" and promised to "work with state and local officials as they consider next steps."
Mesa, a city of nearly half a million people on the outskirts of Phoenix, has had an unpleasant experience in recent weeks, as more than 700 people lost their jobs after the sudden collapse of GTAT. At the same time, Apple originally planned this factory as its big return to the United States in terms of production, but apparently it will not produce sapphire yet.
"Apple could have invested in a factory literally anywhere in the world," realizes Mesa Mayor John Giles, who now plans to travel to Cupertino to show Apple the city's support. "There are reasons they came here, and none of them have changed."
It is not yet clear how Apple will use the factory, where another solar panel company went bankrupt before GTAT. Representatives of both companies – both Apple and GTAT – declined to comment.
But the city of Mesa itself and the state of Arizona have done a lot of work to attract Apple to the area. Apple's 100 percent renewable energy requirements were met, a new electrical substation was built, and the fact that the area around the factory was designated as a foreign trade zone significantly reduced potential property taxes.
You can find the complete story of how the cooperation between GTAT and Apple failed and how the two companies eventually parted ways <a href="https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1932/8043/files/200721_ODSTOUPENI_BEZ_UDANI_DUVODU__EN.pdf?v=1595428404" data-gt-href-en="https://en.notsofunnyany.com/">here</a>.
