Software company Adobe Systems Inc. will double the size of its Utah workforce and Lehi office space during the next few years, adding 1,260 jobs over 20 years.
The company made the announcement last week after being approved for a tax credit incentive of nearly $25.8 million over 20 years by the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) board.
“On behalf of Adobe, thank you,” Jonathan Francom, vice president of employee and workplace solutions at Adobe, told the board. “Thank you for your faith and for your confidence in what we’ve been able to do and to extrapolate that going forward.”
Founded in 1982, Adobe — known for products including Photoshop, Acrobat Reader, Creative Cloud and Experience Cloud — employs more than 17,000 worldwide, including 1,200 in Lehi. The company placed operations in Utah with its 2009 acquisition of Omniture. It later built a distinctive 280,000-square-foot building near Interstate 15.
The $90 million expansion is expected to create nearly $2.3 billion in new wages over 20 years — the average wage is expected to be $120,000, which is three times the Utah County average wage — and nearly $86 million in new state tax revenue during that period.
Adobe had been awarded a state incentive in 2010 totaling $40.2 million over 20 years that was tied to the creation of 927 jobs in a $298 million project.
Board chairman Jerry Oldroyd said the project “will be an absolute game-changer in the state of Utah.”
“Adobe has been a fantastic corporate citizen,” said Mel Lavitt, chairman of the GOED board’s incentives committee. “It has been one of the cornerstones of our Silicon Slopes and a key contributor to the Point of the Mountain Development Commission since 2009.”
Lavitt noted that Utah won the project over several competitors, including other states and India. “But we won, and to me, that’s great. If we keep this company growing here, the more we grow, the better we’re going to be,” Lavitt said.
Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox said Adobe, like Amazon, are “flagships that send a message to the rest of the country that Utah is a great place to do business, and not just once, but twice.”
A couple of board members lauded Adobe’s commitment to hire more women and for its efforts to improve air quality.
“Adobe elevates Utah’s business community,” Gov. Gary R. Herbert said in a prepared statement. “They play a key role in the development of the Point of the Mountain and Silicon Slopes. We look forward to their continued leadership and success in the state.”
“Not only is Adobe a leader in Utah’s tech market, but they are also an incredible community partner,” said Theresa Foxley, president and chief executive officer of the Economic Development Corporation of Utah. “Their continued investment in Utah is a sign of our tech community’s bright future.”