In the last two weeks, Amazon, Apple, and Toyota, arguably three of some of the biggest employers throughout the United States, have made announcements about investments in new jobs in Indiana.
Toyota is adding 1,400 new jobs to its manufacturing plant in Princeton, Apple is planning to build a new hub in Clayton in rural Hendricks County, and Amazon is adding a distribution center in Fort Wayne.
Between the three companies, 2,900 new jobs are up for grabs throughout the Hoosier state.
“What that means for those communities is truly transformational,” said Gov. Eric Holcomb talking to Inside Indiana Business. “Obviously the careers, and the Little Leagues, everything they support, so it has a compounding positive impact beyond just the careers that are created.”
The three announcements have the governor thinking even bigger for Indiana. Coming out of the coronavirus pandemic, Holcomb believes the state picking up where it left off in growing a healthy business-friendly ecosystem in Indiana.
“We have companies like Lilly, Roche, and Cummins, we’ve long enjoyed those marquee names. Now what we are trying to do, and are succeeding at is growing that whole ecosystem,” he said. “The Infosys and the Salesforce that are coming as well that compliment all those efforts.”
Holcomb said a big reason these companies have thrived or will thrive in Indiana is access to a talented workforce, and that ecosystem is likely to next expand to places like Jeffersonville and Gary.
“These two opposite ends of our state, the sky is really the limit for where we want to end up in ten to twenty years,” Holcomb said. “And that’s what we are planning for.”
Post-pandemic, many companies are struggling to hire enough workers in order to meet demand. Holcomb is helping companies hire workers by launching programs such as the READI program, which will encourage partnerships between cities, towns, and companies to help retain and attract a talented workforce.
