Apple Inc. has gone on a hiring binge in the Holy Land according to local news website YNet . The Israeli website reports that “preparation’s for Apple’s [new middle eastern] research and development center have kicked into high gear” and that “in the next few weeks, Apple will be launching a major hiring campaign in the so-called “Start-Up Nation.” Dozens of personnel ads are expected to be posted for positions in the R&D center, which will be located in [the port city of] Haifa.
“At the end of March,” YNet reported, “Apple’s international site was already running four ads for engineering positions in Israel.” New hires will join employees of Israeli chip design firm Anobit, which has acquired by Apple in December for just under half a billion dollars.
“Apple bought Anobit for two reasons,” according to TechCrunch: “its flash memory controllers are a key component of all Apple’s leading products (from iPads and iPhones to MacBook Airs), and in one fell swoop it just added a large team of chip engineers to payroll.” In fact, the new hires from Anobit more than 10 percent of all chip engineers at Apple.
Since February, Apple’s website has hosting a job listing for a “headhunter” who would have to be capable of “hiring dozens of candidates simultaneously.”
This looks like a coup for Silicon Wadi, Israel’s local version of Silicon Alley centered on Tel-Aviv. Firms such as Microsoft and Intel already have established research centers in Israel, taking advantage of a flourishing local technology scene.
Israel has previously been on Apple’s radar when it temporarily banned the iPad for several weeks after its launch.
