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Apple claims shot in arm for Cupertino from new Fruit Loop HQ

Doughnut? Spaceship? We beg to differ

Apple has claimed its massive new ring-shaped Cupertino headquarters will create 7,400 new jobs and sustain thousands more in the local area.

The fruity firm's gigantic new Apple Campus 2 building, which it would seem reasonable to dub the Fruit Loop, looks more like a vast modernist doughnut (or breakfast unit) than a corporate headquarters. Made of curved glass and sitting in the middle of a wooded park, it will stretch across 2.8 million square feet and stand four storeys tall, eventually housing up to 12,000 staff along with an auditorium and a fitness centre.

Apple has released a lengthy economic impact report, written by real estate firm Keyser Marston Associates, in which it announces plans to hire 7,400 new staff members between now and the completion of the campus in 2016, bringing the total roll call up to 23,400 employees. About 10,400 of these will be based in the new campus and the existing Infinite Loop facility, while the rest will be based in other offices around Cupertino.

By the time the new building is finished, Apple claims it will be pumping $8.6 billion into local businesses and paying Cupertino about $13 million in taxes, an increase of $3.8 million on the current tax bill of $9.2 million. This figure includes tax on property and sales, along with other taxes.

It's clear the fruity firm has a few bob to spend, as it boasts an estimated cash surplus of $100 billion and an annual growth rate of 36 percent.

The report said:

"With net annual sales in excess of $156 billion, 16,000 employees currently based in the Cupertino area, and annual purchases from local Silicon Valley-based businesses of $4.6 billion, Apple is a cornerstone of the Silicon Valley economy and of the fiscal resources of the City of Cupertino. The completion of Apple Campus 2 is vital to the region."

Apple is the second largest tech employer in Silicon Valley and it estimates that 12,100 additional jobs are currently sustained in Santa Clara County from "expenditures by Apple and Apple employees". Apple claimed that for every four jobs it opens up, three others are created in the local area.

The report contains some fascinating insights into the financial comings and goings of the notoriously secretive company.

The fruity firm currently pays its staff about $2 billion, a figure it expects to rise up to $2.9 billion by the time the spaceship has landed.

One nugget Apple did not want to disclose was how much its staff actually earn. The report used the average computer engineer wage of $124,000 to make its calculations, but admitted that the average iPerson earns a "significantly higher" wage.

Apple staff currently generate $154,000 a year in tax revenue for Cupertino's council simply by eating lunch, a figure which will shoot up to $225,000 when the new headquarters opens. The average worker spends $8 on their meal and chooses to eat out about half of the time.

However, this may be set to change because Cupertino has high hopes for its cafeteria. In 2010, it raked in just $1.3 million but last year the corporate dinner ladies banked $8.2 million. By the time the fruit loop is finished, Apple hopes to be making $28.4 million a year just through its cafe.

The figures also appear to show increasing levels of naughtiness by Apple employees. The amounts of "fines and forfeitures" collected by Cupertino have shot up from $40,838 in 2010 to $49,706 in 2012.

Last year Apple employees spent $1,661,261 on clothes. This is roughly enough to buy 9,493 of the $175 black turtlenecks favoured by Steve Jobs, although there is some controversy about who actually designed them.

All Apple has to do now is wait for final planning permission, although local mayor Gilbert Wong has previously said “there is no chance we are saying no” to the plans. ®

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