Fast-growing outsource technology company HCL Technologies has received approval for a California Competes Tax Credit for its plans to bring 663 new jobs to Sacramento over four years.
The award was announced by the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, also known as GO-Biz, on Thursday. Statewide, the program signed up 16 businesses for up to $71.1 million in tax credits for creating 5,200 new jobs.
“This program is a critical tool to attract and retain employers who will in turn create good-paying jobs and economic opportunity across the state,” said Dee Dee Myers, director of GO-Biz, in a news release.
Based in Noida, India, HCL’s California headquarters is in Sunnyvale.
The GO-Biz agreement is with subsidiary HCL America Inc.
It’s not clear where the employees would work in Sacramento. Sacramento is not currently listed on HCL’s website as an office location. Company representatives could not be reached by the Business Journal for comment.
According to its website, HCL employs 17,000 in the U.S. in 21 states. Globally, the company employs 159,000 and had $10.2 billion in revenue in its fiscal year that ended in March this year. That is more than double its revenue of $4.7 billion in its 2016 fiscal year.
HCL does global technology consulting work for the financial services, retail, health care, travel, logistics and manufacturing industries. On its website, it says that half of Fortune 500 companies are its customers.
HCL’s base number of employees in California was 1,701 in 2019. The number of employees is estimated to increase by 254 employees in 2021, and to reach up to 2,364 employees by 2024, a net gain of 663 jobs over four years. The company is eligible for up to $1.3 million in tax credits if it achieves its employment gains.
According to its agreement with GO-Biz, HCL agrees to “hire full-time employees and invest in facilities, furniture and fixtures, office space, tenant improvements and computer equipment as part of its expansion in Sacramento."
Additionally, the company’s investment into Sacramento has to reach $4 million over the four years to get the tax credit.
The state does not pay companies under the California Competes program. Rather, the state forgives taxes to the specified amount if the companies meet hiring and investment goals over time.
The Greater Sacramento Economic Council said that it, the city of Sacramento, the University of California Davis and California State University Sacramento were also involved in bringing HCL to Sacramento.
“We want to thank the leadership at the city of Sacramento, including City Manager Howard Chan and his office, Mayor Darrell Steinberg and the economic development team for closing the deal and moving it forward for HCL Technologies, a global leader in technology,” said Barry Broome, CEO of the Greater Sacramento Economic Council, in a news release.
Broome said that UC Davis Chancellor Gary May and Sacramento State President Robert Nelsen also “assisted with this deal and showcased our robust talent pool exemplifying why our region is the number one market for technology companies. Additionally, our digital upskill program led by Cassandra Jennings shows companies our inclusive workforce and the effort we are making to digitally train people in the Sacramento region.”
Greater Sacramento Economic Council officials declined to comment further.
