Tech Company’s New Office Will Bring Up To 1,250 Jobs To Nova Scotia
HALIFAX–A deal between the province of Nova Scotia and the multinational company Cognizant could bring as many as 1,250 jobs to the province. If all goes to plan, 1,000 IT jobs and 250 business processing outsource jobs could come to the province over a seven-year period.
Cognizant, a publicly traded American company that specializes in technology services and consulting, is expected to set up its new office in Halifax.
According to crown corporation Nova Scotia Business Inc, Cognizant could spend close to $330-million in salaries and benefits over five to seven years. And the new employees could contribute up to $42-million in provincial taxes.
But attracting the giant tech company to the province didn’t come for free. The province has agreed to pay as much as $27-million over that same time, depending on how many jobs the company creates.
“Payroll rebates are designed in a way that the tax revenue generated for the province by the new jobs is always more than the amount spent on the rebate,” says NSBI President and CEO Laurel Broten. “And we only pay the rebate after the payroll is made and the taxes are collected.”
“We will only pay for and support them with what they do create. And rebated roles are only those roles that are created and reside here in Nova Scotia.”
Broten says NSBI is mandated to offer companies payroll rebates that range between five and ten percent. This deal, based on the amount of money Cognizant will generate in Nova Scotia, falls within those boundaries.
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She also explained that the incentives are important for competing internationally in bringing businesses, and jobs, to the province. Cognizant operates in 37 countries and already has four offices in Ontario, Broten notes.
“You always have to remember; they have operations all around the world and they could have chosen to put these 1,250 jobs somewhere else,” said the CEO.
“We don’t always know who our competition is, but we always know there is competition…”
Broten also argues that the economic impact of having more than 1,000 good-paying jobs in the province will be felt beyond just salaries and taxes.
“There’s all sorts of other benefits that come out of 1,250 roles being created; new people moving to the province, graduates able to find opportunities…obviously, the economic impact is much larger than the direct (impact).”
Cognizant did not respond to Huddle’s interview request by our publication deadline.
Derek Montague is a Huddle reporter in Halifax. Send him your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].