Apple Is Bringing Thousands Of Jobs To Arizona

Apple will build a new 700-employee manufacturing facility in Mesa, Ariz., to make components for various Apple products, according to a press release issued by the Governor of Arizona.

All told, the plant will create more than 2,000 jobs in engineering, manufacturing and construction, Apple said in a statement to Pocket-Lint.

It's not clear how much money Apple will spend on the facility, but some are reporting that Apple bought a vacant plant in Mesa for $100 million as a starting point.

It's also not clear exactly what components Apple will be making at this facility. MacRumors believes that Apple will make something called "sapphire glass" there, which is an extremely scratch-resistant type of glass. Apple uses it to protect its iPhone cameras and for the Touch ID home buttons on the iPhone 5s, MacRumors says.

An investment in a facility could mean Apple is expanding its use of sapphire glass. That's lead to speculation that it could be used for a new smartwatch.

One thing is clear, Apple has been making an effort to bring more manufacturing back to the U.S. It is also assembling its MacBook Pro PCs at a Flextronics plant in Austin, Texas.