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 Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information.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 — Utah got a big economic boost Thursday as a global defense contractor made a major commitment to increase its Utah operations and bring approximately 2,700 jobs to the state over the next 15 years.
Wages of those positions will exceed 125 percent of the Salt Lake County average salary.
The new jobs are part of ITT Electronic Systems' plan to expand its Salt Lake City composites engineering and manufacturing facility.
Headquartered in White Plains, N.Y., ITT provides integrated solutions for global defense, intelligence, information assurance and commercial aerospace sectors. The company currently occupies a 130,000-square-foot facility near the Salt Lake City International Airport and employs 400 Utahns who serve commercial and military aircraft customers.
"We will hire over 100 this year … higher-end technicians, manufacturing engineers (and) quality control personnel," said director of Composite Systems Mike Therson. "(Also) by the end of this year, we will announce the opening of a new facility and within 2½ years, we plan to occupy 500,000 square feet (in the Salt Lake City area)."
The Governor's Office of Economic Development board approved a $33.6 million post-performance incentive that will represent 30 percent of new state revenue collected over 15 years. The company will be eligible for increments of tax credit only after they complete the requirements for job creation and capital investment.
"With Utah's unemployment rate at 7.4 percent … we are working harder than ever to bring quality jobs to the state," said Gov. Gary Herbert.
Meanwhile, the news of hundreds of jobs for Utah offers a positive outlook for many who have been searching for employment in what has been a challenging environment, according to Kristin Cox, director of the state Department of Workforce Services.
"It's indicative of the momentum we're seeing in the state of Utah," Cox said. "When you see (high-skill) jobs like this coming into the state, there is the trickle effect … because of the other jobs (and) everything else that goes around supporting those new jobs."
------
Story written by Jasen Lee with contributions from Richard Piatt.
