In the News: Third Quarter 2024

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.

Logistics Plus Inc signed a lease in June for space in Glendale that will add to the existing warehouses the company has there. It has added 10 new jobs among the three facilities it has leased. United FoodsInternational, a Japan-based food manufacturer that makes condiments, sauces and spices, already has a facility in west Phoenix and is leasing space in Laveen, expecting to employ 100 there. Heavy equipment manufacturer Komatsu plans to enlarge its sales and service center in Mesa, nearly tripling its size by the spring of 2026 and adding 100 jobs. Moe’s Southwest Grill franchise is opening five Arizona locations, two of which are already in the works – a location in Goodyear to open in September and one in Peoria by the end of the year, each employing 12 or more people. LegacyEV, an auto parts distributor that compiles components to make electric vehicle conversion kits, moved from a facility in Tempe to one in Gilbert which will allow the company to double its workforce of 16 by the end of the year. Cybersecurity firm MARS Suite expects to double its workforce of twelve in the next 12 months, and most of those employees will be in Arizona. Arkansas-based restaurant chain Slim Chickens opened a location in Maricopa this spring followed by one in Glendale in June and locations in Peoria and Yuma later in the summer, each with about 100 employees. The franchisee plans to open three to five more Phoenix area locations in the next year.

 Blue Polymers LLC, a joint venture between Republic Services Inc and Ravago, will open a plastics recycling facility in Buckeye during the second half of 2025 and employ 60. Chandler will have a new Trader Joe's sometime later this year, and based on prior reports, the store will hire about 70. Online education firm Penn Foster Group opened a call center in Chandler in April and plans to employ 100. Retailer REI Co-op opened a new store in Glendale in June, hiring 50 employees. Aldi plans a distribution center in Goodyear that will employ more than 120. CarbonConnect, which makes direct air capture machines to remove carbon dioxide, is leasing a facility in Mesa. It will have 30 initial employees this year and build up to 400 employees by 2029. Australian manufacturer Magna Steyr plans on setting up a facility in Mesa and is hiring for 19 positions. Sprouts opened a location in North Phoenix this June, and based off of previous reports, employment per store is typically 120-150. AI content writer company Content at Scale has ten people in the Phoenix area already and plans to hire about 100 in the next five years for positions in AI engineering, marketing and others.

Aerospace and defense manufacturer Northrop Grumman notified the state of 543 possible layoffs at its Chandler office. The company has begun notifying workers and trying to match them with other opportunities within the company. Panera Bread closed down a dough-making facility in Chandler this August, leaving 64 employees out of work. Titan Solar Power filed bankruptcy and closed its operations in June, leaving 50 Chandler employees without work. The Walmart Health Vital Care telehealth program began in 2019 but earlier this year the company decided it was not sustainable and was closing down the 51 centers. One such center was in Phoenix, for which a WARN notice was filed in May indicating 74 layoffs. The All of Us Research Program created by the NIH and run through the University of Arizona-Banner to capture information on diseases from more diverse populations that are underrepresented in medical research has had a drop in federal funding, leading the program work on a smaller scale and lay off 45 workers. Delta Apparel Inc which has a distribution center in Phoenix, filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June and indicated to the state that 38 were being laid off. Evernorth Care Group, formerly called Cigna Medical Group, laid off 261 employees in Scottsdale this spring. Mortgage lender Newrez LLC cut 73 Tempe employees this summer. Logistics firm Kuehne + Nagel Inc laid off 227 workers in the Valley at the end of July as its customer Honeywell opted to bring that work in-house for two of its Arizona locations. There will be 138 positions lost in Tempe and 89 in Phoenix. New York-based ObvioHealth which has a digital clinical trial platform filed a WARN notice in Arizona stating that 51 employees in Maricopa County will be cut. 

Minnesota-based Ajax Metal Forming Solutions is building a sheet metal fabrication facility in Tucson that will be operational by the third quarter of this year and employ 20.

Red Lobster announced in May that it was closing locations including one in Oro Valley and reported to the state of Arizona that there were 14 people laid off. Magpies Gourmet Pizza closed its Tucson 4th Ave location in mid-May after 35 years there. The company decided to focus on takeout and delivery at its other two locations instead and reported to AZ Job Connection that eight people were let go at the closing of the 4th Ave location. Tucson's Kalil Bottling Company filed a WARN notice at the end of May indicating 546 layoffs. Industry news reports in early June indicate that Kalil was sold to Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP) and that once the acquisition is finalized KDP will have 425 workers here. ISS Action, a firm that specializes in providing security for federal, state, and local governments, reported to the state at the beginning of July that it was letting go of employees in its Yuma and Tucson offices, 51 in Yuma and 119 in Tucson.

Pro-Fit-Kitchin, a gluten-free restaurant in Bullhead City closed at the beginning of June, with 60 positions cut. Schuff Steel, which has several Arizona locations, reported to the state that it was letting go of 63 workers in Bellemont, AZ, which is just west of Flagstaff in Coconino County. UACJ Automotive Whitehall Industries, which makes aluminum automotive components and assemblies, gave notice to the state that it was laying off 22 people in Flagstaff. Lucid Group announced this summer that it was cutting 6% of its total workforce. This will amount to about 60 positions in Arizona, all of which are salaried since no production workers will be affected. Five people were let go at the Show Low location of TRUE Diabetes Neuropathy & Wound Solutions this summer, based on reports to the AZ Job Connection. Security firm ISS Action reported to the state that it was letting go of employees in its Yuma and Tucson offices, 51 in Yuma and 119 in Tucson.