Cisco Plans $ 41 Million Atlanta Office, Hires 700 – Los Angeles Sentinel | Los Angeles Sentry

Cisco announces that it will expand its presence in Georgia by opening a new 700-employee office in downtown Atlanta.

The California-based tech giant is investing $ 41 million to open in a huge complex developed on land owned by Georgia Tech. Cisco says it wants to focus on hiring more engineers and programmers from Georgia Tech, Georgia State University, and colleges at the historic Black Atlanta University Center: Morehouse College, Spelman College, Clark Atlanta University, and Morehouse. School of Medicine.

“Having experienced this community’s growing talent pool, I look forward to opening our doors and starting to hire, collaborate with and support the next generation of amazing Cisco teammates at all levels. Said R. Scott Herren, chief financial officer of Cisco, from Georgia. , wrote on the company’s website.

The announcement continues a series of tech-driven expansions targeting areas near downtown Atlanta. In recent months, Microsoft, which was already adding 1,500 jobs, bought land for a major campus northwest of downtown. Visa, Facebook and Airbnb have also announced plans to start or expand their businesses in Atlanta.

Cisco has announced that it will open what it calls a “Talent and Collaboration Center” in the summer of 2022. The company said it will hire people in engineering, experience client and finance, including students, entry-level positions and mid-career professionals.

Cisco could claim various tax breaks, including an income tax credit allowing it to deduct $ 1,250 per job from state income tax annually, up to $ 4.4 million out of five years, provided the workers earn at least $ 28,000 per year and the amount deducted does not exceed more than 50% of the state income taxes Cisco owes.

The state said a final deal had not been reached and it was not clear whether it would offer discretionary incentives. Fulton County said it does not offer local incentives.

Cisco bought Scientific Atlanta, a maker of telecommunications and networking equipment, for $ 7 billion in 2006 in what was then Cisco’s largest acquisition. The company already has offices in Alpharetta and Sandy Springs with 1,000 employees.