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Gov. Bev Perdue announced recently that Avaya, a global provider of business collaboration and communications solutions, will expand its operations in Research Triangle Park. The company plans to create 135 jobs over the next four years with a $500,000 capital investment in Durham County. The project was made possible in part by a Job Development Investment Grant.
“My top priority is creating jobs, and when we see a globally competitive corporation like Avaya bringing 21st century jobs to North Carolina, we know that our history of investments in education and worker training are paying off,” Gov. Perdue said. “We welcome companies like Avaya that are willing to invest in our state and position North Carolina as a leader in business.”
Avaya is a leading global provider of business collaboration and communications solutions that bring people together with the right information at the right time in the right context, enabling business users to improve their efficiency and quickly solve critical business challenges. With 400,000 customers, including more than 85 percent of the Fortune 500 companies and one million customer locations worldwide as of June 30, 2011, Avaya’s customers operate in a broad range of industries, including financial services, manufacturing, retail, transportation, energy, media and communications, health care, education and government.
Avaya intends to consolidate order processing functions widely distributed across North America into Avaya’s facility in North Carolina to integrate processes, manage teams more effectively and improve overall operations. Also, as part of the proposed project, Avaya plans to establish a marketing and sales Center of Excellence in RTP, including a new video collaboration studio, which will support the company’s newest video and collaboration solutions. Avaya currently employs more than 300 people in North Carolina.
“Avaya is committed to delivering the next generation of business communications, and this Video Center of Excellence will play a key role in the development of new collaboration technologies,” said Jim Chirico, Executive Vice President, Business Operations, Avaya. “The Job Development Investment Grant helps us strengthen operations of Avaya’s business that are absolutely critical to supporting our customers and to meeting their communication needs.”
While individual wages for the 135 jobs will vary by job function, the overall average for the new jobs will be $87,704 a year, plus benefits. The Durham County average annual wage is $61,256.
“When companies consider moving to North Carolina, their decision is about more than the bottom line,” said Rep. Mickey Michaux, of Durham. “They need educated, skilled workers, and that’s why our legacy of investing in education up until this year have helped attract so many new businesses and have prompted existing businesses to expand.”
“Today’s announcement is an example of how North Carolina’s state and local governments make themselves partners with job-creating businesses,” said Sen. Floyd McKissick, of Durham. “Forbes magazine recently rated North Carolina as having the best regulatory environment in the nation to help businesses grow.”
To help facilitate this expansion, the state Economic Investment Committee today voted to award a Job Development Investment Grant to Avaya. JDIGs are awarded only to new and expanding businesses and industrial projects whose benefits exceed the costs to the state and which would not be undertaken in North Carolina without the grant.
Under the terms of the JDIG, the company is eligible to receive a grant equal to 50 percent of the state personal income withholding taxes derived from the creation of new jobs for each of the 8 years in which the company meets annual performance targets. If Avaya meets the targets called for under the agreement, the JDIG could yield $1.692 million in maximum benefits for the company.
In addition, up to $564,000 could be added to the state’s Utility Fund for infrastructure improvements in economically distressed counties. When a JDIG is awarded in the state’s more economically prosperous counties such as Durham, 25 percent of the grant award is allocated to the Utility Fund to encourage economic development in less prosperous counties.
Other partners that assisted with this project include: the N.C. Department of Commerce and N.C. Community Colleges.
Through Gov. Perdue’s JobsNOW initiative, the state continues to work aggressively to create well-paying jobs, train and retrain its workforce, and lay the foundation for a strong and sustainable economic future.
For more information about Avaya, including job opportunities, visit www.avaya.com.
