Apple Inc. AAPL announced that it would be expanding its European operations in a big way over the next two years, something the region’s policy makers hope will help spur on job growth and assist with economic recovery efforts.
The electronics giant announced on Monday that it plans to spend €1.7 billion on two state-of-the-art data centers set to be based in Ireland and Denmark.
Clean Energy Initiative
The data centers are expected to be the largest of their kind in the world, and will be powered by the latest renewable energy technology.
In addition to running its data centers on clean energy sources, Cook said Apple will continue to work with local groups to develop innovative ways to provide power in the future.
New Jobs
Apple CEO Tim Cook said this project marks the company’s largest European project to date, and that the new centers will be responsible for powering services like the iTunes Store, Maps and iMessage throughout Europe.
The euros spent on the project are expected to be evenly distributed between Ireland and Denmark and will likely create hundreds of new jobs in each nation.
Ireland Welcomes Apple Project
Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny cheered the project, saying that it is projected to add 300 new jobs by 2017 when the center is expected to begin operations.
Ireland has long struggled to recover after receiving a bailout package from the EU when the financial crisis began.
Since then, the nation’s lawmakers have been working to sure up Ireland’s balance sheet and reduce unemployment.
This year, Irish policymakers have vowed to cut unemployment figures to below 10 percent, something the Apple project will help accomplish.
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