IBM Corp. has added 382 of the 500 jobs it pledged to create in 2012 as part of a $300,000 work force training grant, and county commissioners have given the company another year to reach that total, Columbus Business First reports. IBM has received $229,000 so far for reaching 76 percent of the goal, as grants “are paid out as jobs are added,” according to the article. Ron Lovell, a vice president at IBM, said the problem is not demand but supply, saying, “[t]he college system is just starting to catch up, to develop these skills.” The first two years of the grant were slower, but hiring has “picked up over the last 18 months,” and turnover has been “just 4 percent,” according to Lovell. The company retained 671 existing jobs to top 1,000 employees at the Columbus campus. Franklin County Commissioners unanimously approved the one-year extension; Commissioner Marilyn Brown said, “[i]f it’s slower going and you’re retaining people, I’m OK with that.” The county “noted that IBM has made $6.8 million in capital investments in the property, more than double the $2.7 million pledged in the agreement.” Lovell said the company expects to reach its hiring goal by year’s end. For more, read the full article.
IBM tops 1,000 jobs at NW Columbus campus, grant extended another year
