Spending at Sandia National Laboratories held steady last year despite the lingering effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the economy, according to newly released economic impact data.
The labs spent a total of $3.76 billion during the 2020 fiscal year, which ran from from Oct. 1, 2019, to Sept. 30, representing an about $87 million boost from the previous fiscal year. Payments for subcontracting also showed a modest increase, rising form $1.32 billion to $1.33 billion, according to the data.
But while the overall amount spent on subcontracting increased, the amount paid to businesses in New Mexico fell. In fiscal year 2019, companies in the state received roughly $36 million more in subcontract payments compared to last year. The top five industries for subcontracting were the computer-related services, construction, research and development, engineering services and machine shop fields.
“Sandia National Labs depends on our diverse, small-business supplier base that brings technical experience, ingenuity and responsiveness," said David Dietz, director of integrated supply chain management at Sandia, in a statement. "We look forward to continuing to build relationships with small and diverse suppliers to achieve our national security mission and further economic prosperity.”
The labs continued to create jobs, as well as fill existing positions. In fiscal year 2020, Sandia created about 460 new positions, and its overall employment grew to more than 14,400. About 12,700 of those workers are based in New Mexico. In 2019, Sandia filled more than 1,100 newly-created positions, Business First reported.
The economic impact release comes not long after the Sandia Science & Technology Park, a public-private development that is funded by the labs, announced that several companies came to the park in 2020. The new arrivals included Cybermedia Technologies, IDEAS Engineering & Technology, BioFlyte and TekSynap, Business First reported.
