Apple to convert sapphire glass factory to data center command center


Daisuke Wakabayashi for The Wall Street Journal

Apple said it expects to start construction in 2016 after GT Advanced Technologies Inc., the company's sapphire manufacturing partner, clears out of the 1.3 million square foot site. The $2 billion investment is in addition to the $1 billion that Apple had earmarked to build scratch-resistant sapphire screens at the same location.

GT Advanced filed for bankruptcy last year after their deal with Apple fell through. WSJ reports the facility will employ 150 people and utilize a new 70-megawatt solar farm.