Hogsett Hopes Amazon ‘Takes Note’ of Indy Momentum
Anthem Inc. was the highest ranking Indiana company on the JUST 100 list.
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIndianapolis mayor says Joe Hogsett Anthem Inc.’s (NYSE: ANTM) $20 million headquarters project, along with recent significant announcements from India-based Infosys (NYSE: INFY) and Genesys show the city remains a magnet for corporate headquarters. Hogsett says, even "without the 64,000-pound elephant in the room being mentioned," he expects a decision on the Amazon HQ2 location by the end of the year, and continues to believe Indy is well-positioned thanks in part to its workforce and proximity to several universities.
In an interview with Inside INdiana Business, Hogsett says he hopes Amazon has taken note of the city being surrounded by "some of the most fantastic institutions of higher education in the country." He says, while meeting the demand for workers that would come with Amazon locating in Indianapolis, the city is helping its case by attracting talent form the East Coast and West Coast that it wasn’t getting five or 10 years ago.
Amazon earlier this year named Indianapolis one of 20 finalists for the location of its second corporate headquarters, which could bring a more than $5 billion investment and up to 50,000 jobs. Gary and Hammond had also put in bids for the massive project, but were not selected as finalists.
On Tuesday, Anthem reiterated its commitment to keeping its headquarters in Indianapolis. The state’s largest publicly-traded company says it will invest $20 million to convert its largest downtown Indianapolis facility, which is on the city’s south side, into its new corporate headquarters. The site will be home to more than 2,600 workers.
The Anthem news came a little more than a month after India-based tech giant Infosys announced it would bring a USA Training Center to the old Indianapolis International Airport site. Those plans involve 1,000 new jobs, on top of the company’s previous commitment of 2,000 jobs. In 2016, California-based contact center technology company Genesys completed its $1.4 billion acquisition of Indianapolis-based Interactive Intelligence Group Inc., with plans to maintain its office in Indy.
Hogsett says, even with all the recent job growth, he’s confident Indianapolis could provide Amazon the workers it needs.