Apple will re-purpose the Arizona sapphire plant to save jobs

Apple has plans to repurpose a sapphire manufacturing plant in Mesa, Arizona, in an effort to preserve jobs, city officials say. The plant has been used by sapphire screen supplier GT Advanced Technologies, but its future has been uncertain since the company went bankrupt last month. “They’ve indicated their commitment to us: They want to repurpose that building and use it again,” Mesa City Manager Christopher Brady told Bloomberg. Apple has promised city officials that it is focused “on preserving jobs in Arizona,” Brady added, and it will “work with state and local officials” as it considers its next steps.

Apple Inc. has told officials in Mesa, Arizona, that it’s committed to bringing jobs and manufacturing to the area even after the bankruptcy of GT Advanced Technologies Inc., a supplier that was going to make sapphire screens for iPhones in the city. “They’ve indicated their commitment to us: They want to repurpose that building and use it again,” Mesa City Manager Christopher Brady said in a recent interview. Apple has said it’s focused “on preserving jobs in Arizona” and promised to “work with state and local officials as we consider our next steps.” Spokeswomen for Apple and GT Advanced declined to comment for this story. Mesa, a city of 450,000 on the outskirts of Phoenix, is trying to bounce back after GT Advanced’s sudden shutdown last month of a factory that employed more than 700 people. Apple touted the facility as a milestone in its efforts to bring manufacturing back to the U.S., after years of relying on Asian suppliers to build the company’s iPhones, iPads and Mac computers. “Apple could’ve invested in a facility literally anywhere in the world,” said Mesa Mayor John Giles, who is planning to visit Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, California, to show the city’s support. “There’s a reason they came here, and none of those reasons have changed.”