Apple may be bending a little under the pressure to find the top talent it demands because the company is opening an office in San Francisco for the first time. The satellite location could help the iPhone and iPad maker compete for top notch employees who currently work for competitors and aren't interested in the long commute times to Cupertino.
Apple's swanky new digs in San Francisco
The company is in the processo of building out the office space it's leasing at 235 Second St. in San Francisco's fast growing South of Market neighborhood. Apple has about 76,000 square feet in the same building as CBS Interactive, according to Reuters, and will be able to accomodate about 500 employees.
This marks a big departure from Apple's long standing policy where its office jobs have all been consolidated in Cupertino. The company has offered free shuttles for employees commuting to its headquarters from San Francisco, but that may not be enough to appease staff any more.
Apple isn't saying how it plans to use its new office space, or how it fits in with Beats and Topsy Labs, which are both San Francisco-based. Apple chose to leave those office locations intact following their acquisitions.
While the new San Francisco offices will help Apple draw in more of the employees it's looking for, the location could also be a way of dealing with another issue the company is facing: Available office space in Cupertino is strikingly difficult to find because the company already leases about 70 percent of the market. Unless other companies move out of the area, there isn't much left for Apple to snap up.
Apple will likely finish with its South of Market remodeling in time for employees to move in this summer.