Time is running out for Apple. If the North Carolina Research Center fails to meet the standards next year, it will lose $800 million in payroll tax relief.

CTOnews.com, December 16 (Xinhua) Apple plans to spend more than $1 billion to set up an engineering and research center at the triangular Research Park (The Research Triangle Park) in North Carolina, a new park that will focus on machine learning, artificial intelligence, software engineering and other technologies.

Apple's relocation plan has been in the pipeline for years and has been silent since the acquisition records were exposed in 2018. According to The News & Observer, Apple still plans to build a North Carolina campus, but the timetable is unknown.

But there is not much time left for Apple. If Apple fails to create at least 126 new jobs by the end of 2023, it will be ineligible for national incentives. If Apple can meet its recruitment target, it could receive a payroll tax credit of more than $800 million (about 5.576 billion yuan) by 2061 under the employment development investment grant agreement.

CTOnews.com learned that Triangle Research Park is said to be the largest research park in the United States, covering 7000 acres, has 300 companies and employs 65000 people. Apple is expected to employ about 2700 people in the industry by 2032.

Apple bought about 280 acres of land in Research Triangle Park (RTP) near Raleigh for about $50 million at the end of 2018. Apple announced plans to spend $1 billion (6.97 billion yuan) on a new park and engineering center in North Carolina's research triangle in 2021. Most of the work is expected to focus on machine learning, artificial intelligence, software engineering and other technology areas.