Consumer Cellular Inc., a provider of cellphones, no-contract cellular plans and accessories, will locate its first Kentucky operation in Louisville, creating 486 full-time jobs with a more than $15.5 million investment.
“I want to welcome Consumer Cellular to the commonwealth and thank its leaders for this commitment to Kentucky’s talented workforce,” Gov. Andy Beshear said Thursday in a news release. “We have seen economic growth throughout the state this year, and Louisville has been a major part of that success. I look forward to this facility opening in the coming months and following the company’s growth in Kentucky.”
Consumer Cellular will locate in an existing building on Triton Boulevard in Louisville, according to the release. The new customer support center will allow the company to better serve customers on a national scale. Jobs created through the project include management and call center support positions. Company leaders expect to add more than 400 of the new roles in 2022.
“Consumer Cellular is proud to invest in the Bluegrass State,” Consumer Cellular CEO Ed Evans said in the release. “Kentucky has everything we look for in a location. The state offers a low cost of living, high quality of life and individuals who are ready, willing and able to go to work. I appreciate Gov. Beshear, Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer and everyone else who we have worked with to make this expansion possible. They have fostered an economic atmosphere that will allow our company to grow, which made the decision to expand here even easier.”
Founded in 1995, Oregon-based Consumer Cellular is a postpaid mobile virtual network operator that offers cellphones, low-cost, no-contract cellular plans and accessories focused on users over age 50, the release stated. The company operates exclusively in the U.S. and employs more than 2,400 people across four locations in Arizona and Oregon.
This year, the commonwealth has shattered every economic development record in the books for yearly investment totals, according to the release. Year-to-date, private-sector new-location and expansion announcements include $11 billion in total planned investment and commitments to create 17,000-plus full-time jobs across the coming years. Through September, Kentucky’s average incentivized hourly wage is $24.15 before benefits, a 10% increase over the previous year.
