The Greater Austin Chamber is honored that Freescale has chosen to keep its global headquarters in Austin. Freescale has been- and will continue to be- a highly valued citizen of our community. It is one of our largest employers, contributing every day to our regional prosperity through the excellent jobs it provides and its sizeable payroll. Freescale and its employees contribute enormously to the quality of life in this region and is a key factor in our reputation as a technology center.

"The competition for this great company was fierce," said Chamber Chair Kirk Watson of Watson, Bishop, London and Brophy. "It is our task now in the business community to do all we can to help Freescale build on its success, to work with them to create the transportation infrastructure and the business climate they need to continue to grow and prosper. We have only just begun that effort."

Watson noted that the Greater Austin community worked together to come up with a package of incentives consistent with economic development policies that have been adopted previously by local governing bodies. These incentives are an investment that is based on hard data and likely return on the investment. Austin will remain global headquarters for a Fortune 500 company. That headquarters office includes 600 permanent jobs with an average salary of $113,000. In addition, Freescale plans to add up to 500 new jobs to its total operations and to invest $414 million in new equipment and machinery in the Desired Development Zone within 10 years. The company plans to move 300 headquarter jobs into the Desired Development Zone and occupy 75,000 square feet of space there.

"At the Greater Austin Chamber, we know that our economy rests on the strong backs of companies like Freescale, employers who are already here and contributing to the community," Watson said. "We know that 80 percent of new jobs in the Austin region will be created by these companies. Through our Portfolio Austin program, we are working with these employers to identify and eliminate barriers to their growth and expansion."

Throughout this process, the commitment by community and elected leaders to work together has been instrumental in keeping these jobs in Austin. The Chamber thanked Mayor Will Wynn, City Manager Toby Futrell, Travis County Judge Sam Biscoe and the County Commissioners, the Austin Independent School Board, headed by President Doyle Valdez and to District Superintendent Pat Forgione, U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison and Governor Rick Perry.