More than a month after metro Atlanta's unemployment jumped to 10.5 percent, the area's job picture is getting a little brighter.
Gov. Nathan Deal announced Wednesday that Naples, Fla.-based Proximus Mobility, a marketing company that provides localized digital content to consumers’ mobile phones, is moving its headquarters to Atlanta. The relocation will bring with it 100 jobs over the next three years.
And today officials will meet at the former Solvay Pharmaceuticals Inc. campus in Marietta to announce a deal that will bring a satellite of global giant Osmotica Pharmaceutical Corp., here. The company, which has offices in Wilmington, N.C., Argentina and Hungary, specializes in drug delivery technologies and neurology based therapies and has products in various stages of development focused on the treatment of Parkinson's disease.
While leaders were mum on the details about Osmotica, the governor's office said the agreement would attract 144 jobs. Solvay Pharmaceuticals had employed about 400 people at its Marietta location before being purchased by Abbott Laboratories two years ago.
The added jobs come as other companies have announced increased hiring, including Norcross-based RockTenn, which said last week it is adding 500 new positions.
The hiring is critical. Metro Atlanta had one of the largest year-over-year job losses in June in the nation, shedding 24,300 non-farm jobs, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said.
Alison Tyrer, a spokeswoman for the Georgia Department of Economic Development, said Proximus qualifies for $1.75 million in job tax credits based on the 100 jobs the company is announcing. The Atlanta Development Authority, the city of Atlanta's economic development arm, could not be reached to determine if the agency offered Proximus incentives.
Chris Cummiskey, commissioner of the economic development department, said, "We have so many resources here for high-tech companies, and it’s always great to see that they’re being taken advantage of. We've been able to attract a real cluster here thanks to the availability of skilled workers, access to R&D, and easy accessibility to clients we offer companies like Proximus Mobility.”
Staff writer Janel Davis contributed to this report
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