Professional services giant Accenture PLC (NYSE: ACN) will double its office footprint in Midtown’s Technology Square and create 800 technology jobs by the end of 2020.
"Atlanta is a key market for Accenture in terms of talent, clients and growth," a spokeswoman said late Tuesday.
The Fortune 500 company, which employs about 2,800 across several offices in metro Atlanta, provides management consulting, technology services and outsourcing. Atlanta is Accenture's Southeast headquarters.
Atlanta Business Chronicle first reported the expansion plans Sept. 19. Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal and Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed announced the project at a press conference Wednesday.
The Accenture expansion comes as Atlanta competes to land the biggest economic development whale in history — Amazon.com Inc.'s $5 billion HQ2.
Atlanta is attracting a slew of Fortune 500 innovation centers and IT hubs — General Electric Co. (NYSE:GE), Anthem Inc. (NYSE: ANTM), Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD), Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE: HON) — drawn by the region’s abundant and relatively inexpensive tech workforce. Global transportation access, meanwhile, makes the city attractive to multinational corporations.
Accenture, which did not receive economic incentives for the expansion, will add 40,000 square feet to the 33,000 square feet the company currently occupies at Tech Square’s Centergy building. The deal will make Accenture the largest corporate tenant in the 14-story tower that houses startups, venture firms and Georgia Tech business incubator ATDC.
In Atlanta, Accenture will recruit across its strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations services businesses. The majority of the 800 jobs will focus on new technologies, such as digital, cloud-services and cybersecurity.
The expansion includes opening a 30,000 square-foot “innovation hub” — one of 10 Accenture plans to launch by 2020. Other cities with similar hubs include New York, Chicago, San Jose, Washington, D.C. and Houston.
"This is going to be a destination for innovation and is going to cement further our reputation, as well as Atlanta's, as this is where innovation happens for the digital economy," said Jimmy Etheredge, a senior managing director at Accenture.
Source: https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2017/09/20/accenture-to-add-800-jobs-in-atlanta-a-key-market.html