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March 6, 2009
Computer giant Microsoft Corp. plans to begin occupying a new 134,000-square-foot Chevy Chase space this spring that is expected to add several hundred new jobs, state economic development officials say.
The move will result in as many as 600 new jobs in the county, according to a recent report by the state Department of Business and Economic Development.
Some of those jobs will come from a smaller office in Chevy Chase that Microsoft currently occupies, although employees will move to the new digs from sites across the Washington, D.C., area, a Microsoft spokeswoman said.
Microsoft, headquartered in Redmond, Wash., has more than 900 employees in the district area but does not break down figures for the Maryland portion, the spokeswoman said. She declined to confirm specific job gains for the Chevy Chase move. Divisions moving into the location include health services, government affairs, and small and midmarket services.
The new Microsoft office is part of the Wisconsin Place development at 5400 Wisconsin Ave. The 1.1 million-square-foot property will also feature a Whole Foods grocery store, restaurants and retail stores. A Bloomingdale's department store and some other retailers have already opened.
Developers are New England Development of Newton, Mass., Archstone of Englewood, Colo., and Boston Properties of Boston.
Microsoft and biotech MedImmune had the largest job-gaining projects on the new state list, which mostly covered those unveiled in 2008. MedImmune is adding 355,000 square feet to its 91,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Frederick in an expansion due for completion later this year. In addition, plans are in the works to add a 250,000-square-foot research facility to MedImmune's Gaithersburg headquarters.
Defense contractor Northrop Grumman Corp. and health care data analytics company MedAssurant each announced 500 new jobs in Anne Arundel County and Bowie, respectively, about a year ago, DBED reported.
The largest capital investment in the report was $500 million for a planned gas-fired power plant in Charles County by Competitive Power Ventures. Construction on the facility is slated to begin this summer with completion by 2012, executives with the Silver Spring power company said. As many as 400 jobs will be created for the construction process, and 25 full-time permanent employees will be needed to operate the plant.
The state report is based on public announcements of planned expansions by company executives. Data may not be complete, officials said.
"Some of the new facilities announced may not yet be in operation, as the time between announcement and occupancy is often many months, and sometimes years," the report says.
More layoffs announced in state
The report comes on the heels of increasing announcements of layoffs by employers in Maryland. Companies filed notice with the state for 803 layoffs in January, up 32.5 percent from a year ago. In the week ended Feb. 14, the number of unadjusted initial unemployment claims in Maryland increased 61 percent from the same week a year ago.
Several companies more recently reported layoffs, including Academy Facility Management in Annapolis and Millennium Inorganic Chemicals in Baltimore.
Academy Facility Management, a cleaning and maintenance company, will lay off 111 workers by March 31 as it closes, according to the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. Millennium, which is also closing, is laying off its 140 workers by April 12. The company, which produces titanium chemicals, is a subsidiary of Cristal Global, a Saudi company.
Last month's closure of the Baltimore Examiner newspaper led to the announcement this week of 105 layoffs by Vertis Communications. Vertis cited "the significant loss" of business by the Examiner closing in shutting its Belcamp facility, which provided advertising inserts and newspaper products for retailers, newspapers and consumer services companies. The work has been transferred to other locations, according to Grace Platon, a spokeswoman for Vertis, based in Irving, Texas.
Home Depot, which is closing its Expo locations in Columbia and Bethesda, will let go 189 workers by late April.
Last year, Maryland lost a net 15,100 jobs, its first calendar-year loss in several years, according to U.S. Department of Labor figures.
Nationally, the department reported Thursday that seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims in the week ended Saturday totaled 639,000, down 31,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 670,000.
Last month, state officials said that 13 foreign companies had set up offices in Maryland in the past 10 months and will create as many as 150 jobs over the next few years. The state's location, federal assets and business climate were cited.
"Today's competitive economy demands that Maryland identify innovative and creative ways to tap into new opportunities for growth," DBED Secretary Christian S. Johansson said in a statement.
The new foreign companies include Finnish defense business Environics and Wavebob, an Irish company that produces energy from ocean waves. Environics is creating 20 jobs in Harford County, while Wavebob is adding 15 jobs in Annapolis, DBED reported.
About 105,000 Maryland employees, or 3.5 percent of the workforce, are employed by foreign-owned firms.
Staff Writer Rebecca McClay contributed to this report.
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