Monday, July 5, 2021

Apple is 'Decentralizing Out of Silicon Valley'

 

Apple is 'Decentralizing Out of Silicon Valley' (9to5mac.com)68

9to5Mac writes:Amid pushback regarding Apple's plans to return to in-person work this fall, Mark Gurman at Bloomberg reports that Apple is "ramping up efforts to decentralize out of Silicon Valley." In the latest edition of his Power On newsletter, Gurman reports that Apple has faced a variety of problems recruiting and retaining talent because of its emphasis on Silicon Valley.

Gurman writes that Apple has been "losing talent" because of the high-cost of living in the San Francisco Bay Area. "Many engineers lamented that they couldn't balance living expenses with other pursuits like college tuition for their children and long-term savings," Gurman says.

Furthermore, Apple has struggled to diversify its workforce because of its focus on Silicon Valley. It also competes with a variety of companies for talent, including Amazon, Google, and Netflix. The cost of operations is also high, and Gurman writes that "Apple could get the same work out of employees demanding far lower salaries in less pricey regions." For these reasons, Apple is reportedly looking to decentralize out of Silicon Valley.

From Bloomberg's report:Decentralization across the company is entering full swing, and Apple has engaged in a costly expansion from the sunny coasts of LA and San Diego to the Pacific Northwest of Oregon and Washington, the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, Iowa's Midwest, the Eastern Seaboard of Massachusetts, Miami and New York. Notably, it's also spending $2 billion on building new campuses in Austin, Texas, and North Carolina. That's in addition to hiring engineers in Canada, Germany, New Zealand, Spain and the U.K. Altogether, the moves will add tens of thousands of jobs outside of Silicon Valley.

As it keeps moving beyond Silicon Valley, Apple will pilot a hybrid office and remote work arrangement globally when it forces nearly all staff back to its offices in September.