EBay will add 200 jobs in Draper

0 Comments | Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Jun 12, 2009 | by Lois M. Collins Deseret News

EBay has taken Utah up on tax incentives offered in May and will expand its customer-support operations in Draper by 200 more employees, according to an announcement made Thursday at the monthly meeting of the Governor's Office of Economic Development Board.

William Lasher, a senior director at eBay, said that the company would have to "cobble together some new space" to accommodate the employees.

The online auction company, which has headquarters in San Jose, Calif., already employs about 1,000 people in its Draper customer- service center and South Jordan data-center operation.

Utah reeled in the new positions with a $1.7 million tax incentive over 10 years for positions that pay at least 25 percent above Salt Lake County average wages. The company would spend $40 million in the next 10 years on capital investments and $70 million in wages and generate about $6.8 million in tax revenues, according to projections.

EBay also plans to close its customer-service operations in Vancouver, British Columbia, this fall. The Draper expansion is a consolidation of eBay's North American customer-support operations.

During the GOED meeting, the board also awarded incentives designed to lure filmmakers to Utah, including increasing a previously approved refundable tax credit for the makers of "High School Musical 4." A $1 million tax credit was originally approved, based on projections that Salty Pictures would spend $5 million in Utah. Now, filmmakers are predicting they'll spend an extra $1 million, and the board agreed to increase the credit by $200,000 to reflect that.

Such incentives give Utah a chance to be a financial angel and reduce production costs, which in turn makes Utah a desirable location for filming.

The board also approved a refundable tax credit of up to $5.5 million for Barsoom Pictures. As the company films "John Carter on Mars," it's expected to spend as much as $27.7 million in Utah, much of that in wages for Utah crew members. The picture, which is being financed through Walt Disney Pictures, is based on a book by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Plans call for filming to begin in November and continue through July 2010.

E-MAIL: lois@desnews.com