Area Development
L-3 Communications, a leading defense contractor will expand its Salt Lake City facility and hire up to 500 more employees later this year.

L-3 Communications is a prime contractor in command, control, communications, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems. Its Utah division, Communication Systems West, provides network engineering, software integration, hardware manufacturing, and test support services for the military and defense market.

"I cannot think of a better place to do business," said Susan D. Opp, President of L-3's Communication Systems -West. "Utah has the combination of a skilled, well educated work force, excellent quality of life options, and state and local governments that promote business growth. That is why our operation has continued doing business in Utah for over 50 years."

Beginning in 2012, L-3 will begin hiring up to 500 new workers as it expands its current facility. The Governor's Office of Economic Development approved a one-time, post-performance Economic Development Tax Increment Financing refundable tax credit of $5,526,682 over the 10-year life of the project. As part of the agreement, L-3 Communications committed to hire up to 500 new employees at 125% of the Salt Lake County average wage. The firm will pay nearly $390 million in wages, while the State will gain over $22 million in new state revenue over the same period. L-3 estimates that it will invest approximately $6 million in capital for improvements related to the expansion in the near term, according to the Governor's Economic Development Board.