Medical equipment-maker Illumina will keep 300 manufacturing and sales employees in San Diego after reaching a 10-year, $1.5 million economic incentive agreement with the city, Mayor Kevin Faulconer and company officials announced Tuesday.
"Because of the agreement, hundreds of jobs will stay in the region" - @kevin_faulconer at @illumina pic.twitter.com/Nstw2s0auo
— SD Regional EDC (@SDRegionalEDC) July 15, 2014Illumina, which makes devices for genetic analysis, was recently named the "Smartest Company in the World" by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
"This is a perfect example of how San Diego can support middle-class jobs while also encouraging economic growth," Faulconer said. "This agreement keeps hundreds of high-wage jobs in San Diego, ensures city residents benefit from over a million dollars in annual sales tax revenue, and strengthens our region's leadership in biotechnology."
The company, which also has manufacturing facilities in Hayward and Singapore, was considering expanding elsewhere, including to Poway and Memphis, according to the mayor.
Illumina, the 12th-largest provider of sales and use tax revenue to the city, will apply the increase of such levies to the $1.5 million city credit, in exchange for keeping its workers in San Diego for the next decade.
The company leases a half-dozen buildings in San Diego totaling more than 560,000 square feet.
The City Council is expected to vote to ratify the deal next week. Council members enthusiastically approved similar agreements with craft brewers Ballast Point and AleSmith last month.
