Huge Economic Development Announced by Gov. Edwards for New Orleans

Recently, Gov. John Bel Edwards, along with Mayor Mitch Landrieu and DXC Technology made a huge announcement for the city of New Orleans. They announced that the company will be creating about 2,000 new jobs at a new Digital Transformation Center found right in the heart of New Orleans.

This new location will create more permanent jobs at one site in New Orleans than any other economic development deal in the entire state.

About DXC Technology

DXC Technology was formed last April when CSC and Enterprise Service Division of Hewlett Packard Enterprise merged. This project follows other projects in New Orleans from companies, such as GE Digital, EA, IBM, CGI, CSRA and CenturyLink. Over the past decade, New Orleans has quickly become one of the top destinations for software and IT.

The merger, which was announced in May 2016 and completed in April 2017, made DXC the leading independent end-to-end IT service company in the entire world. The company has been searching for the right city for their new Digital Transformation Center and selected New Orleans out of dozens of options.

DXC Technology is a Virginia-based company and it will be seeking an integrated model including higher-education workforce solutions, to help prepare their staff for the Digital Transformation Center. The center will become the place for next-generation technology services used to support the digital transformations of their clients.

DXC plans to hire 300 IT and business enterprise professionals throughout 2018, to get things started. They will expand to about 2,000 jobs over the next five years and expect to have a payroll of more than $133 million by 2025.

The company serves about 6,000 major clients across about 70 countries. They provide support for clients and will continue to grow through the new location in New Orleans.

Louisiana Helping to Meet Workforce Needs

The State of Louisiana will help to ensure there are plenty of higher education workers ready to help DXC expand their workforce. The state will fund a $25 million higher education initiative to help expand the amount of degrees earned ever year in the areas of science, engineering, math, computer science, management, technology and other STEM-related studies.

This new initiative will be guided by Louisiana Community and Technical College, Louisiana State University and the University of Louisiana. These college systems will lead the initiative through the LSU campus in Baton Rouge, Southern Louisiana University in Hammond, Delgado Community College in New Orleans and the University of New Orleans.

Where Will the Digital Transformation Center be Located?

While an exact location has yet to be announced, DXC Technology’s Digital Transformation Center will be found in the Central Business District of New Orleans. Along with the 2,000 jobs the company will create, another 2,257 estimated jobs are expected to be created due to the project. In total, more than 4,250 new jobs are expected to come to the Southeastern Region of Louisiana due to this move by DXC.

The LSU Economics & Policy Research Group believes the DXC Technology project will create about $64.3 million in new state taxes and another $868.4 million in earnings for the state. This means, from 2018 to 2025, this move is expected to create an economic output of about $3.2 billion.

How Louisiana Secured the Project

The State of Louisiana made an aggressive move to ensure DXC Technology chose New Orleans over other options. The competitive incentive package included $18.7 million in performance-based grands over a five year period, along with the $25 million higher education initiative. The grant package includes the following:

•          Flexible performance-based grand of $15 million
•          Performance-based parking assistance grant of $2.2 million
•          Performance-based demolition grant of $1.5 million

In addition, DXC will receive the workforce solutions of the LED FastStart. The higher education initiative will also provide grants for the college campuses over five years for curriculum, faculty and other necessary resources for the project. DXC will likely utilize the Louisiana Quality Jobs Program, as well.

The LED FastStart workforce initiative is now ranked as the top state workforce training program in the entire country and has been for eight years in a row. The program was created by Louisiana Economic Development to provide necessary workforce solutions for those employers in the state looking to expand.

Hiring for DXC Technology has already begun. Job candidates may find information and apply for the company’s open positions here: LouisianaJobConnection.com/DXCNola

The DXC workforce will also include many military service members exiting active duty. The Veteran Initiative, along with the Louisiana Veteran Entrepreneurship Program and many job fairs will help to fill open positions with qualified veterans for DXC.

This is a huge move for the city of New Orleans and will bring many jobs to the area. It’s one more technology company moving to the city and more are expected to be attracted to New Orleans very soon.