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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

Yahoo Opens $170 Million Customer Care Center In Lockport, New York

05/01/2015
Yahoo opened its new customer care center, which was part of the second phase of its East Coast data center expansion, in the Town of Lockport, New York. The project will result in 115 new, well-paying, jobs and a capital investment of $170 million by Yahoo.

“The expansion of Yahoo's operations here in Lockport is even more proof that Western New York is on the move," Governor Andrew Cuomo said. "Bringing 115 new jobs and more than $150 million in capital investment complements the region's dedicated workforce, world-class universities, and low-cost hydropower. I welcome Yahoo to their newer, bigger home."

Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul said, “As Yahoo’s own CEO, Marissa Mayer, once said, ‘Companies with the best talent win.' The decision by Yahoo to make such a significant investment right here in Lockport will help create over 100 new jobs that will directly benefit our hardworking and well-educated residents. Western New York is rapidly becoming an economic magnet known for attracting some of the most innovative and cutting-edge companies throughout the world. Through Governor Cuomo’s commitment, we continue to make New York State a place ‘Open for Business’ so that the high-tech industries of the future have a place to call home.”

The state incentive package for the 150,000-square-foot expansion of Yahoo’s existing data center and the construction of the customer call center includes 7.2 megawatts of low-cost hydropower from the New York Power Authority and $2 million in Excelsior tax credits from Empire State Development. Yahoo received the incentive package in 2013 and began ramping up its customer call center workforce in the region at a temporary location in Amherst. Those jobs will now migrate to the new facility in Lockport.

The expansion project's sustainable design uses moderate-to-cold outside air for cooling the data center’s servers, consistent with the current facility’s features. The Yahoo campus uses 40 percent less electricity and 95 percent less water compared to conventional data centers. Yahoo’s East Coast data center is the company’s second largest and most efficient worldwide.

New York Power Authority Chairman John R. Koelmel said, “The completion of these new Yahoo facilities advances the development of the high-tech economy in the region and underscores the economic development value of the Niagara Power Project.”

Howard Zemsky, Empire State Development President/CEO said: "Yahoo is an international leader of the new digital economy and they found just what they were looking for in Lockport: low cost power and educated employees in a beautiful setting. Their Western New York success story continues to grow."

In addition to the incentives that Yahoo received in 2013, the firm also utilizes 15 megawatts of hydropower from the New York Power Authority in support of 125 jobs at its original Lockport data center, which completed construction in 2011.

Dr. Satish K. Tripathi, Co-Chair of the Western New York Economic Development Council and President of the University at Buffalo, said, “Graduates in the fields of engineering, finance and systems analysis are building successful long term careers at Yahoo. These interesting, exciting, and well-paying jobs are retaining and attracting young people to our region. Yahoo’s commitment to Lockport is yet another example of how Governor Cuomo’s vision for a robust high-tech economy is being realized across Western New York.”

Jeff Belt, Co-Chair of the Western New York Economic Development Council said, “Yahoos expansion of its data center in Lockport is proof that when it comes to hiring a workforce that is ready to face the challenges of tomorrow they need look no further than Western New York. Our pool of well-educated, technically savvy innovators is proving to be an important resource for Yahoo.”

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