Big Companies Create IT, Manufacturing Jobs in Atlanta
More and more big businesses are setting up shop in Georgia’s capital, creating hundreds of new IT and manufacturing jobs in Atlanta, among other industries.
Atlanta is attracting some big names. According to 11Alive.com, a string of headquarter relocations and consolidations have included mobile phone giant Sony Ericsson, which announced in November that it would move its North American headquarters from Research Triangle Park, N.C., to Atlanta.
The move combined its North America region and its Latin America region, based in Miami, to create Region Americas in Atlanta.
Other recent wins include the Belgian solar company Enfinity Corp. with Americas headquarters in Sandy Springs; tax advisory firm CCH Small Firm Services, with corporate headquarters in Kennesaw; and aluminum giant Novelis Inc. with North American headquarters heading to Buckhead.
So why Atlanta? Here are some reasons: businesses are intent on streamlining their operations in regions with lower operating costs and a growing labor force.
Also, companies also want to relocate to cities whose airports offer quick access to international destinations, as U.S. business continues to expand into emerging global markets.
Atlanta is in prime position to offset the job loss, as more headquarters move from Northern cities to the South, analysts say.
One reason: Companies are cutting costs, and the South is a cheaper place to do business.
Atlanta generally has cheaper real estate, lower taxes and less expensive energy costs than northern U.S. cities.
New York creates the highest annual operating cost for a headquarters, at $30.6 million, according to the Boyd study.
Officials in Atlanta claim there are several more deals in the works, too.
The state Department of Economic Development confirmed that it has 52 headquarters projects in its pipeline of economic development deals.
The headquarters represent the potential for 20,518 new jobs for the state and $216 billion in investment, according to the department.
Georgia’s economic development officials geared up their teams to meet the demand.
“We saw this trend coming,” said Heidi Green, deputy commissioner for global commerce at the Georgia Department of Economic Development.
Georgia real estate, including office space, is less expensive, Green said. The state also has a large and talented labor pool, and a strong university system.
That was one reason Enfinity cited for relocating from Sacramento, Calif., to Atlanta.
The state’s work on headquarters projects comes at a critical time for the Georgia economy.
The state unemployment rate climbed to 10.4 percent on March 3, prompting Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond to say, “Georgia’s unemployment crisis is deepening.”
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