JACKSON, Miss. (AP) -- Lockheed Martin Corp. said Tuesday it will open a technology support center this September in the Jackson suburb of Clinton, Miss., creating 350 new jobs.
Emily Simone, spokeswoman for the Bethesda, Md.-based company, told The Associated Press that the mission support center will serve all of Lockheed Martin's federal customers.
The company will put the center in part of the former corporate headquarters of WorldCom, the telecommunications company that went into bankruptcy in 2002. The former WorldCom campus, with several buildings, is now called the South Pointe Business Park and is just off Interstate 20.
Lockheed Martin said it plans to start recruiting technical and customer service employees for the Clinton site in May.
The company already has operations in Mississippi: in Vicksburg, Biloxi and at Stennis Space Center outside Bay St. Louis.
"We see this as growing our relationship with the state," Simone told AP.
The company calls the new site a Gulf Coast technology hub. It said in a news release that the Mississippi site will work with an East Coast hub in Rockville, Md., and a West Coast hub in Altadena, Calif. "to offer enhanced technology capabilities such as cloud computing, business continuity and disaster recovery services."
U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., whose district includes Clinton, announced first word of the Lockheed Martin project.
"Two years ago, I challenged Lockheed Martin to examine the potential that the 2nd Congressional District possesses as a possible location for future business," Thompson said in a news release. "I am happy that Lockheed Martin accepted the challenge I put before them and I fully anticipate that the company will become an excellent corporate citizen. This mission support center demonstrates that the state of Mississippi can compete for good paying jobs."
Gov. Haley Barbour said in a written statement that Lockheed Martin "is already a valued corporate citizen in Mississippi" and he's pleased the company is bringing more jobs to the state.
"I am grateful to Lockheed Martin officials for their ongoing commitment to doing business in Mississippi and wish the company many years of success in Clinton," Barbour said.
Emily Simone, spokeswoman for the Bethesda, Md.-based company, told The Associated Press that the mission support center will serve all of Lockheed Martin's federal customers.
The company will put the center in part of the former corporate headquarters of WorldCom, the telecommunications company that went into bankruptcy in 2002. The former WorldCom campus, with several buildings, is now called the South Pointe Business Park and is just off Interstate 20.
Lockheed Martin said it plans to start recruiting technical and customer service employees for the Clinton site in May.
The company already has operations in Mississippi: in Vicksburg, Biloxi and at Stennis Space Center outside Bay St. Louis.
"We see this as growing our relationship with the state," Simone told AP.
The company calls the new site a Gulf Coast technology hub. It said in a news release that the Mississippi site will work with an East Coast hub in Rockville, Md., and a West Coast hub in Altadena, Calif. "to offer enhanced technology capabilities such as cloud computing, business continuity and disaster recovery services."
U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., whose district includes Clinton, announced first word of the Lockheed Martin project.
"Two years ago, I challenged Lockheed Martin to examine the potential that the 2nd Congressional District possesses as a possible location for future business," Thompson said in a news release. "I am happy that Lockheed Martin accepted the challenge I put before them and I fully anticipate that the company will become an excellent corporate citizen. This mission support center demonstrates that the state of Mississippi can compete for good paying jobs."
Gov. Haley Barbour said in a written statement that Lockheed Martin "is already a valued corporate citizen in Mississippi" and he's pleased the company is bringing more jobs to the state.
"I am grateful to Lockheed Martin officials for their ongoing commitment to doing business in Mississippi and wish the company many years of success in Clinton," Barbour said.