SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Sept. 8, 2016 (Gephardt Daily) — The Governor’s Office of Economic Development on Thursday approved United Parcel Service for an incentive to build a regional package operations facility in Utah, adding nearly 200 high-paying jobs and more than $200 million in capital investment.
“UPS has a strong presence in Utah with a large network of facilities and a productive workforce,” said Val Hale, executive director of GOED, in a news release.
“Our state provides a hard-to-beat strategic location for serving the Western U.S. We have a thriving workforce, and UPS will benefit from choosing Utah for this expansion.”
UPS may earn up to 20 percent of the new state taxes they will pay over the eight-year life of the agreement in the form of a post-performance Economic Development Tax Increment Finance (EDTIF) tax credit rebate.
As part of the contract with UPS, the GOED Board of Directors has approved a post-performance tax credit rebate not to exceed $4,760,642. Each year as UPS meets the criteria in its contract with the state, it will earn a portion of the total tax credit rebate.
Founded in 1907, UPS delivers more than 18 million packages a day to more than 6.1 million customers in 220 countries worldwide.
The company first began operations in Utah in 1975 and currently employs more than 3,500 workers across the state in package, heavy freight and contract logistics operations. The new facility will enhance the company’s services to surrounding states.
The UPS expansion will create as many as 195 high-paying jobs over the next eight years. The total wages in aggregate are required to exceed 110 percent of the county wage.
The projected new state wages over the life of the agreement are expected to be approximately $106,202,415. Projected new state tax revenues, as a result of corporate, payroll and sales taxes, are estimated to be $23,803,210 over eight years.
“We are thrilled to have an exceptional employer like UPS choose to make such a substantial commitment to Salt Lake City and the state of Utah,” said Jeff Edwards, president and CEO of the Economic Development Corporation of Utah, in a prepared statement.
“This project highlights the power of partnerships on several levels and demonstrates what ‘Team Utah’ does best.”
Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski said she approves of the deal.
“As the ‘Crossroads of the West,’ Salt Lake City is a good fit for UPS to locate a facility to serve the needs of millions of customers,” Biskupski said in the news release.
“Likewise, with its strong commitment to diversity, a culture of empowering employees, and a willingness to lead on sustainability issues, UPS is a good fit for Salt Lake City.”
