Apple's pitch goes before City Council

AUSTIN (KXAN) - The Austin City Council on Thursday heard its first formal pitch regarding a proposal that could more than double the local workforce of computer giant, Apple Inc.

"What we are told is that there are other locations under consideration, Phoenix being one of them," said Dave Porter of the Austin Chamber of Commerce. "This is a very competitive situation.

"It just so happens the process that we have to go through here in Austin requires us to become public much sooner than it does in most cities."

Apple's plan that could bring some 3,600 jobs to Austin first surfaced last week when Gov. Rick Perry announced that the state would be willing to kick in some financial incentives. But the city would also have to ante up about $8.6 million over 10 years to seal the deal.

The council has scheduled a public hearing on the matter for March 22. A vote could also take place at that meeting.

Apple already has a workforce of about 3,100 at its North Austin location . If a deal with Austin to expand goes through, Apple could break ground on an expanded facility later this year and hiring would likely begin by 2016.