In the News: Third 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.

Sundt Construction is building a manufacturing facility in Apache Junction that will be operational by early 2026 and employ 100. The facility will be used to assemble pipe spools and other steel pieces before being distributed to construction sites. Sprouts Farmers Market plans a location in Fountain Hills that will open late this year or early next year. The grocer typically employs about 140 per location. Andretti Indoor Karting & Games opened a location in Glendale this spring, the second location in Arizona with more planned in the next two years. There is an on-site team of six for event planning plus numerous others not specified. Energy storage systems manufacturer GTI Energy is planning a facility in Goodyear that will employ 250 initially and ramp up to about 600 when fully operational. Next Level Decking, which manufactures steel building industry supplies, opened a facility in Goodyear with nine experienced individuals and a fully automated machine that is the only one of its kind in this part of the country. Mountain America Credit Union opened a location in Queen Creek in May with nine employees. This follows the branch opened in Mesa last fall. Private jet company, Jet Out, established a base at the Scottsdale Airport this spring and plans to have 15 employees by the end of the year. In an update from last quarter, Norwegian software firm Cognite will have more than 150 employees in Tempe, 80% of which will be new hires and the rest will be management team members relocating to Arizona. Quantum Computing Inc opened a facility in Tempe this spring and plans to have 20 employees in Arizona within two years. 

Mesa had a particularly busy quarter. Electrical equipment manufacturer Apex Power Conversion located its U.S. headquarters and manufacturing facility in Mesa this spring The company will have 300 employees initially and move up to 700 by 2029. Cyclic Materials opened a facility in Mesa for a rare earth elements recycling operation. The company began recruitment for 30 positions in the second quarter of 2025 and will being operations in early 2026. Hadrian, which works as a third-party manufacturer to help scale production for aerospace and defense companies, is building a facility in Mesa that will be operational by early 2026 and employ 350. A pickleball-focused entertainment center called Dink & Dine Pickle Park opened in Mesa at the end of July and will have up to 130 hourly employees. Moses Lake Industries (MLI), a manufacturer that specializes in chemical solutions used in the semiconductor industry, opened a facility in Mesa with 40 employees. Law firm Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP merged with Denver-based Shermans & Howard LLC and plans to grow the Phoenix team. The firm moved into new space that would allow for 50 attorneys or more. SDR Motorsports, maker of parts and accessories for utility task vehicles, recently brought in a new VP of sales and marketing and plans to double its manufacturing capacity in Mesa. Super Radiator Coils opened a facility in Mesa this summer that is expected to employ 125. The manufacturer already has a division in Phoenix.

Intel laid off 696 Chandler employees this summer as part of a larger company-wide reduction. The initial announcement was for 172 employees but it was increased to almost 700 in July. Tilson Technology Management, Inc. filed Chapter 11 this summer and closed its Chandler office, laying off 117. Garment manufacturer for professional sports leagues Decorating Fulfillment Center (DFC) laid off 33 Chandler employees. Sister company Transfer Express, Inc. (TXP) let go of 53 Chander employees. They make garment decoration materials and equipment. Both DFC and TXP are owned by Stahls. Food service provider Sodexo laid off 71 Glendale employees who worked at Arizona Christian University after the contract was canceled. Swiss solar company Meyer Berger Americas Ltd shut down production in Goodyear and laid off 355 citing an inability to obtain refinancing. The U.S. Dept. of Labor pause operations in Job Corps nationwide this spring, resulting in layoffs in Phoenix and Tucson. Phoenix Job Corps let go of 143 staff. District Medical Group – Children’s Medical Group in Phoenix, which worked with disabled children closed its doors this summer, leaving 118 without work. Behavioral health firm Crisis Preparation and Recovery Inc. laid off 73 employees and permanently closed two Phoenix clinics. Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project, which provides legal services, gave notice to the state that it reduced staffing by 47 in Phoenix. Equus let the state know it was letting go of 10 employees in Phoenix. iQor Holdings laid off 148 call center workers in Tempe as a result of a lost contract. Extential AZ/Pure Guard listed 36 layoffs at its Tolleson facility this summer. Ruan Transport Corporation is closing a facility in Tolleson and laying off 144 after a contract with Kroger was cancelled. 

Hickman’s Family Farms suspended operations in June due to a bird flu outbreak. The suspension could last up to two years and because of that 85 employees were let go (initial notices indicated just 21 workers).  Nordstrom Credit Bank indicated they were laying off nine employees as the company transferred cardholder servicing to a partner bank. Quality Built indicated eight layoffs in Maricopa County this summer based on WARN listings. US Cellular Corporation filed a WARN notice in May specifying 205 layoffs in Maricopa County. After surviving bankruptcy in 2018, Southwestern/Tex-Mex restaurant Z’Tejas quietly closed its locations in Chandler and Scottsdale this spring. Based on previous reports and the number listed for the Austin, TX, location, there were likely 80 employees in Arizona. 

Harbor Freight opened its 39^th Arizona store in July with a location on Tucson’s east side. Each store has between 25-30 employees. Construction is underway for a Trader Joe’s store in central Tucson. Typical employment for the grocer is 70 workers per store. There are two possible additions to the Tucson area. Missile manufacturer Castelion Corp is considering Tucson as a possible site for expansion. Project Blue (which we know now is Amazon Web Services) plans to build a data center in Pima County that would have a long term workforce of about 180. 

Medical device manufacturer Spectrum Plastics Group said that it was letting go of 34 employees in Tucson. Shuttle company WeDriveU Inc. filed a WARN notice indicating 138 layoffs in Tucson. Mural Technologies in Tucson let go of 57 employees this summer. The University of Arizona did not renew the contracts for 10 faculty members who were part of the writing program in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. 

The U.S. Dept. of Labor paused operations in Job Corps nationwide this spring, resulting in layoff notices in Phoenix and Tucson. Phoenix Job Corps was set to let go of 143 staff. The Fred G. Acosta Job Corps Center in Tucson reported 124 staff layoffs. A federal judge later granted an injunction allowing the centers to remain open while a legal battle to keep them plays out.

Lowe’s announced it was opening a location in the city of Maricopa in 2025. The hardware chain typically employs 175 per store. Texas Roadhouse opened a location in Yuma this summer. There was no word on employment, though other locations in the state employ about 175. Arizona Department of Economic Security, one of the largest agencies in the state, laid off almost 500 people this summer due to cuts in federal funding. RWTL Capacity Solutions LLC in Kingman laid off 368 people. Kingman is one of four locations for the Oklahoma City-based company that leases Class 8 trucks.  ZenniHome announced it was shutting down its facility for building manufactured homes news Page, leaving 210 employees out of work, most of whom are Navajo. The Colt Grill let go of 200 employees in four Arizona locations (Prescott, Prescott Valley, Cottonwood, and Oak Creek/Sedona) as the owners face a criminal probe for money laundering and labor exploitation. Duron’s Restaurante y Cantina in Yuma closed, leaving seven out of work. JMJ Equipment Transport in Yuma, which specializes in transporting heavy equipment, alerted the state that it will let go of seven employees.