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EMC Corp. plans to add 500 good-paying jobs within the next four years, a company officer said Monday after state economic development officials voted to give the company tax incentives to expand.
EMC, based in Hopkinton, Mass., is looking at several sites in northern Utah County and southern Salt Lake County for the new office that would be built in an existing building, said Vance Checketts, vice president of support services.
The company already has an office in Pleasant Grove, where about 300 Mozy employees work. Mozy was founded in Utah but bought by EMC in 2007.
"We have a short-term facility in place to begin hiring immediately," Checketts said after the board of the Governor's Office of Economic Development approved a $3.5 million tax rebate incentive. EMC plans to invest $7 million in infrastructure.
EMC will begin posting job notices this week and expects to hire 70 to 100 people immediately, with all 500 in place within four years, said Checketts.
The new office will be a customer-service center for the United States and Central and South America, he said.
EMC employs more than 48,500 people worldwide and ranks 152nd on the Fortune 500 list, which is based on revenue.
The new Utah positions will require technical expertise and training, and will pay well above the average area wage, he said.
"These are not entry-level jobs per se," Checketts said. "These are jobs that require technical skill."
Checketts was chief operating officer for Mozy before it was acquired by EMC. Having people here already familiar with the area, plus the tax incentives, good universities, the area's lifestyle amenities and relatively low cost of living helped bring the new office here, he said. He added that a pool of people able to speak foreign languages also helped.
"This is not a trivial investment for the company," Checketts said.