Raytheon is to build a 200,000-square-foot facility supporting 500 new high-tech jobs at its Space and Airborne Systems headquarters in McKinney, Texas.
The announcement follows research from The University of North Texas Economic Research Group, which found Raytheon in North Texas contribute $4.8 billion to the Texas economy.
In 2018, Raytheon directly employed more than 8,000 Texans. Supply chain activity and employee spending supported an additional 10,000 jobs throughout the state.
“This is an investment in the talented McKinney workforce,” said Roy Azevedo, President of Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems. “It shows we are serious about our presence in Texas and that we are here to stay.”
Local and state officials joined Raytheon for the announcement, where they learned about the construction project and the economic impact study results.
“Raytheon has a significant presence in the Texas economy,” said Dr. Michael Carroll, Director of the Economic Research Group at the University of North Texas and lead author of the North Texas Economic Impact Study. “When we examined employee wages and spending, supplier spending, tax revenues and other factors, we found Raytheon’s North Texas operations are a powerful economic engine.”
Raytheon’s McKinney facility specialises in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems, including electro-optical manufacturing and the production of high-energy laser systems.
“Not only is Raytheon’s work in intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems critical to the defense and national security of our country, its investment in our community helps drives our economy,” said US Representative Van Taylor . “Today’s groundbreaking foreshadows Raytheon’s continued innovation in space and airborne systems as well as its growing presence as a job creator here in McKinney.”
Construction is set to be completed in late 2020.
image © Pavel Kapysh / Shutterstock.com
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