In the News: Third Quarter 2022

This post contains items we have found in Arizona news websites and economic development releases where there are job figures recorded. While this list is not a complete description of activity during the last quarter, it does provide insight into current developments that affect Arizona’s employment base. Detailed information on individual announcements is available on the Reports and Presentations page (scroll to the bottom of the page). Graphs summarizing overall trends for Arizona, Phoenix, and Tucson are below.

Yield Engineering Systems (YES) leased a facility in Chandler where it will hire about 100 to manufacture semiconductor equipment. U.S. Merchants looked at both Goodyear and Glendale and chose to purchase a manufacturing location at Cubes at Glendale where it will hire 600-700 to manufacture Greenmade storage cubes as well as packaging and distributing other products. Sportswear retailer Puma signed a lease on a warehouse in Glendale that will be used for a regional distribution center for its stores and e-commerce business, employing about 200. Sweetwater, an e-commerce provider of musical instruments and audio equipment, opened a distribution center in Glendale at the beginning of August and expects to employ 165. Potato Barn Unique Home Furnishings will open a store in Goodyear by late this year or early 2023 creating about 45 new jobs. Virgin Galactic is opening a spaceship manufacturing facility in Mesa that is expected to be fully operational by late 2023 and employ hundreds. Minesota-based law firm Dorsey & Whitney LLP opened an office in Phoenix this January and now has 17 lawyers and three staff members. Bespoke Manufacturing Company, which makes one-off and specialty apparel opened a facility in Phoenix this June with 250 employees. Dave & Buster’s is opening a location in Queen Creek spring of 2023 and based on previous reports, the company typically hires about 250 per location. Sioux Falls-based Raven Industries is opening an engineering center in Scottsdale that will employ about 50. American Furniture Warehouse is opening a store in Surprise this fall that is expected to bring 150-200 jobs. Arizona Lithium Ltd plans to open a lithium processing and research facility in the Valley that will be operational this year and employ about 300. This is in conjunction with the Big Sandy lithium mining project in Wikieup (between Phoenix and Kingman).

Northrop Grumman expanded its Gilbert facility this spring, adding 120,000 square feet to its satellite factory and plans to add hundreds of jobs to the already 850 positions it has there. Meta Platforms plans to add to its Mesa Data Center campus, providing 200 new jobs. This is the parent company to social media giant Facebook. TYR Tactical, which makes body armor for military and law enforcement agencies, signed an agreement with the Danish Ministry of Defense this spring that will allow for 100 new jobs at the company’s new facilities in Peoria. Stoa USA Inc received funding for its FlipOS ibuyer platform and will increases its employment in Phoenix from 50 to 200 by the end of the year. The online platform helps home flippers find a buyer before starting renovations. Caris Life Sciences opened a liquid biopsy laboratory in Phoenix that will add hundreds of bioscience jobs. Opendoor is adding 500 jobs to its Tempe hub. Logistics company KOAM LLC moved into a Tempe facility in July and anticipates having 44 employees there by the end of the year. Satellite communications company Viasat is expanding in Tempe, adding 1,500 employees at the ASU Research Park.

There were two WARN notices for Honeywell locations in the Valley this quarter. Honeywell Chandler filed a WARN notice in May indicating 40 workers were laid off and Honeywell Phoenix (Buckeye) filed a notice in July for the location on Buckeye Road stating that 133 employees will be let go. Tempe-based Carvana announced layoffs in May of about 12% of the workforce nationwide. No word on the specific number of layoffs for Arizona. Lithium-ion battery maker EnPower moved from Phoenix to Indianapolis, Indiana this spring and reports indicated that 20 people moved to the new location.

Philadelphia firm Steel Jupiter, which specializes in coatings for filters and masks, will begin operations in Sahuarita by the end of the year and initially employ 15. Rudy’s Country Store & Bar-B-Q opened a location in Tucson this June with 100 employees. Raising Cane’s opened another Tucson location in July, just across from the new Rudy’s Bar-B-Q restaurant at the Ajo Marketplace. The fast-food chain typically hires 60-80 for each location based on previous reports. Sprouts Farmers Market is opening a store in southwest Tucson this fall with typical employment ranging from 120 to 150 per store.

The Santa Cruz Valley Regional Hospital in Green Valley closed at the end of June, leaving 315 employees without jobs. The hospital was dealing with a large amount of debt and had been in negotiations with TMC Healthcare for a buyout, but deal fell through. Jordan Manufacturing in Yuma laid off 35 this summer according to WARN notices. The company makes outdoor furniture and patio cushions.