Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Utah has offered about $15 million -- its biggest business incentive ever -- to Micron Technology Inc. and Intel Corp. to lure 1,850 new high-tech jobs to Lehi.
State officials hope it will convince the high-tech giants to bring a new company, IM Flash Technologies, to Utah that would manufacture flash memory for consumer electronics. The operation could be up and running within two years.
The Governor's Office of Economic Development Board on Friday unanimously approved the incentive through the state's tax rebate program, which typically is reserved for companies that have not yet decided where they will expand. The IM Flash Technologies partnership indicated months ago it would expand in Lehi.
Micron owns a Lehi facility built almost a decade ago that is nearly empty and can accommodate thousands of workers.
Members of the development board said the incentive is justified because IM Flash will have operations in Lehi, Boise, Idaho; and Manassas, Va. and could expand in any of those three cities, or others.
"We approved the incentive to encourage them to base as much of their production in Utah as possible," said David Simmons, a board member.
Simmons said Lehi will be IM Flash Technologies' headquarters. The average salary for the new jobs, in areas such as manufacturing, engineering, administrative and research and development, will be about $50,000 annually, he said.
Dave Baglee, co-CEO of IM Flash Technologies, said using the Micron facility was an "obvious choice" but that the company easily could expand elsewhere.
The incentive helped "persuade us that Lehi was the right place for the headquarters," he said.
IM Flash Technologies will receive an incentive equal to 30 percent of the state tax revenue it creates over a five-year period. The $15 million is an estimate based on $50 million in new tax revenue, Simmons said.
To keep the money, the state has required that IM Flash remain in Utah for at least 10 years.
Micron acknowledged Friday that while it is adding 1,850 new jobs, it will also eliminate a computer chip-testing operation in Lehi that employs more than 400 people. Those employees may find work at other Micron facilities or remain in Lehi with IM Flash, Micron spokesman Stan Lockhart said.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
