Following a successful hiring spree of former Texas Instruments employees in Israel, Apple is opening a new research and development center in the city of Ra’anana, reports Israeli business publication “Globes.”
This news aligns perfectly with our own predictions back in December: we wrote that Apple would construct a new R&D center in the city of Ra’anana, but only if it got enough engineers on board.
Competition from Intel to hire former TI employees threatened this development — Intel had reportedly offered “healthy compensation packages” in order to lure engineers to the company — but it looks like Apple was successful in its attempts; Globes reports that Apple apparently nabbed 100-150 employees to staff the new development center. Our sources, however, have informed us that the number of employees currently stands at “almost a hundred,” with plans to add more.
We previously detailed that Apple was hiring “dozens” of engineers from Texas Instruments, after the company began cutting around 250 jobs from its Ra’anana development center.
According to our sources, Apple plans to open the new R&D center in the city in “the second half of 2013.” This will be its third in Israel, as Apple already operates R&D centers in both Haifa and Hertezliya.
Get the TNW newsletter
Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.