Jabil planning massive Marshall County facility
Manufacturing and engineering giant Jabil plans to open a massive production facility in Marshall County, marking a $119 million corporate investment that state officials expect will create approximately 2,200 new jobs.
The St. Petersburg, Florida-based company is purchasing and renovating an existing 1.5 million-square-foot facility to support customers in the booming data center infrastructure market.
“Jabil will bring tremendous economic benefits to Marshall County and will create wonderful career opportunities for our citizens,” Marshall County Board of Supervisors President George Zinn III said in a news release Tuesday morning, noting that the project represents the company’s second investment in the county in less than 12 months. “This investment is a result of a strong collaboration among our state and local partners.”
The announcement comes just nine months after Jabil revealed plans to establish its healthcare division in Marshall County, an initiative that involved a $70 million investment to bring X-ray sterilization capabilities to the region.
“Jabil would not be making this investment unless the company was confident that Mississippi and her people can deliver results,” Gov. Tate Reeves said, noting that the expansion represents a significant boost to the local economy. “That is a massive number of jobs and another massive win for our state.”
The Mississippi Development Authority is providing assistance through the Mississippi Flexible Tax Incentive program, known as MFLEX. Marshall County, AccelerateMS, and the Tennessee Valley Authority are also providing multi-agency backing.
Industry experts say the massive footprint of the project reflects an escalating, global demand for artificial intelligence and cloud computing infrastructure.
“Companies across the data center ecosystem are looking to build fast, and they’re increasingly looking to build in the United States,” Matt Crowley, Jabil executive vice president of global business units for intelligent infrastructure, said in a statement.
Economic leaders emphasized that the project positions northern Mississippi as a competitive hub for advanced technology manufacturing. Bill Cork, executive director of the Mississippi Development Authority, called the data center infrastructure operation a high-growth victory for the state.
“A 1.5-million-square-foot operation producing data center infrastructure isn’t a marginal project,” Cork said. “It’s proof we are in the game for advanced manufacturing tied to global demand.”
Because the project will dramatically expand the local workforce, regional development officials are already pivoting toward labor recruitment. Dr. Courtney Taylor, executive director of AccelerateMS, said bringing 2,200 jobs to the county requires a highly coordinated effort to prepare local talent and build viable career pipelines.
Jabil currently operates in more than 25 countries and maintains a global workforce of 140,000 employees.