Uber Picks Texas Over Arizona For Regional Hub

By Christina Estes
Associated Press
Published: Tuesday, August 20, 2019 - 5:53pm

In a competition to woo Uber, metro Phoenix came up short against Dallas. The multibillion dollar company known for ride-sharing and food delivery announced Tuesday that it will open a new administrative hub in Texas.

When Uber opened its customer service center in downtown Phoenix in 2015, then-Mayor Greg Stanton and Gov. Doug Ducey celebrated the estimated 300 jobs. Dallas is now celebrating an estimated 3,000 jobs.

In a statement, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said his state’s business friendly environment makes it the perfect home for innovative companies like Uber. Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins, the county's top administrator, said the move "will provide a huge boost to our urban core with a positive wave that will spread across our entire county and region."

"Arizona has lowered taxes, streamlined regulations and established a suite of incentives to support corporate growth and expansion,” Steve Zylstra, president and CEO of Arizona Technology Council, said in a statement to KJZZ. “Our state is also known for luring autonomous vehicle operations, largely thanks to our friendly business environment and local streets laid out in an easy-to-navigate grid. The type of business opportunity that Uber Technologies presented is very competitive however, and Dallas offered a very aggressive incentive package to win the day.”

Uber will get a $24 million incentive package from Texas. Officials said jobs created by the regional hub will generate an annual payroll of $400 million. A request for comment from Uber was not received by deadline.

Business