In the News: Fourth Quarter 2025

This post contains items we have found in Arizona news websites and economic development releases where there are job figures recorded. It also includes items from the Arizona Job Connection Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification Act (WARN) search. 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.

Consulting firm KeenStack moved into new space in Chandler this fall and plans to add 150 tech jobs over the next 18-24 months. Applied Materials, Inc. plans to invest in a new manufacturing facility in Chandler to make semiconductor equipment components and parts. The facility could add about 200 jobs over five years. Steakhouse chain J. Alexander opened a location in Chandler during November that will employ 90-100. California grocery chain Vallarta Supermarkets is opening its first Arizona location in Glendale, which should be open by January and employ 200. Sprouts Farmers Market plans to add another Mesa location though no timeline has been announced. The grocer typically employs 120-140 per store. Canadian-based XNRGY Climate Systems, which makes climate systems for data centers, opened its first facility in Mesa that will add 900 jobs and announced this summer that it was planning a second facility in Mesa that would employ 500.

MiiHealth AI, a spinoff of MiiHealth, plans to expand from five employees to 14 as it has collaborated with Mayo Clinic to test a new AI-based clinical intake product. Banner Cardiovascular Center – Arcadia opened this summer with 12 full-time employees. NeuroCatch Inc., described as a brain health technology company, plans to establish a U.S. headquarters in Phoenix. The company will transition about a dozen Vancouver, Canada employees here over the next 18-24 months and hire 10 people locally over the next three years. X-Silicon, which develops GPU chips for AI and graphics, is relocating its headquarters from San Diego to Phoenix, creating 75 jobs here by the end of 2026. Trinity Capital Inc. is expanding its headquarters in Phoenix and intends to increase its workforce, though no specific numbers were provided.

Genealogy website Ancestry acquired photo and digitization company iMemories this summer. As the companies integrate services, iMemories will continue to operate in Scottsdale, retaining its current workforce and adding 50-100 employees within two years. Discount grocer ALDI opened a location in Surprise in July and based on other locations, will employ about 25. Busch Vacuum Solutions is opening a facility in Tempe that will be a regional hub for the repair, service, and overhaul of vacuum systems and pressure equipment. It opened in October, though no job numbers were available. Zelis, a healthcare finance software firm, is opening an office in Tempe at the beginning of 2026 that will employ 25-30. 

Intel announced it was laying off an additional 97 people in Chandler after large cuts earlier this summer. Southwest Key Programs, a nonprofit organization that provided shelter for unaccompanied migrant children, lost a federal contract resulting in the loss of 1,467 workers in Mesa and 45 workers in Alpine, AZ (Apache County). Mesa Public Schools cut about 40 staff positions due to an anticipated drop in enrollment. Gannett moved printing operations for the Arizona Republic, and the Arizona Daily Star, to Las Vegas at the beginning of October, causing the loss of 117 jobs in Phoenix. Albertson’s Companies let the state know that it was laying off 150 employees in Phoenix this fall. Aircraft maintenance company McGee Air Services shut down operations at Sky Harbor and laid off 79 the first week of November as Alaska Airlines switched ground operations to another company. LSG Sky Chefs laid off 259 workers in Phoenix this November as a service contract with American Airlines ended. The company will still have a presence at Sky Harbor, but at about half the staff as previously. SAF-Holland, Inc. informed the state it was letting go of seven employees this fall. Freight Handlers, LLC filed a WARN notice that it would lay off 77 employees in October when it will no longer service Kroger facilities in Phoenix. Nordstrom Credit Bank, which had laid off a handful of people earlier this year, filed another WARN notice indicating 16 positions cut in Scottsdale. Tower Capital in Scottsdale closed this summer, leaving the staff of 14 to find other positions. Outdoor Holding Co., formerly Ammo Inc., relocated operations from Scottsdale to Atlanta at the beginning of October, transitioning several employees to remote work and laying off five. 

The only reports for the Tucson area this quarter are layoffs. Translation service CyraCom International Inc. is closing down two Tucson offices and laying off 500 employees between November and December, most of which are interpreters. Arizona Public Media in Tucson laid off six staff members and left 11 positions open this fall after federal funding was pulled, representing 12-15% of its annual budget. Defense contractor PowerHouse Resources International, LLC notified the state that it was letting go of 200 Tucson employees. Food City closed its South Tucson store during early October, leaving an estimated 150 out of work. The Census Bureau filed a WARN notice in early October indicating 100 call center employees in Tucson are set to be laid off in December – though these layoffs were challenged in court. 

America First Credit Union plans to open eight Arizona branches by 2027, six of which will be in the Phoenix area. Each branch will start out with seven employees and expand to 10 and the first branch opened in September in Goodyear. Ivanhoe Electric Inc. plans to start construction on a copper mine in Casa Grande. The Santa Cruz copper mine will have 500-600 employees once operational and will employ about 1,000 during the construction phase in 2027-2028. ALDI plans to open a grocery store in the city of Maricopa. No word on job numbers, but based on other locations the number will be about 20-25 employees. 

University of Arizona Cooperative Extension let go of staff throughout the state that worked on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education (SNAP-Ed) after federal funding cuts eliminated the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture program. Originally, 43 jobs losses were expected but the university was able to keep 20 of the jobs. Yuma Primary Care let go of five employees this fall. Chain restaurant/sports bar Hooters closed its Yuma location this summer letting go of 15 workers. Ryder Integrated Logistics posted a WARN notice indicating 58 jobs lost in Yuma.