Medtronic PLC has announced its plans to construct a campus in Lafayette, Colorado to consolidate existing research workers there and add up to 1,000 more; have been approved by city officials. Construction of the nearly 600,000 square foot project is expected to start sometime in May and finish in the fall of 2022. When the Lafayette campus is complete, all workers from both the other campuses will relocate there. Medtronic plans to add 500 to 1,000 additional workers in Lafayette over roughly the next eight years. One of Medtronic’s Colorado facilities manufactures surgical cauterizing devices used on veins, arteries, and organs. The other makes surgical equipment used during brain and spine procedures. The two Colorado businesses account for roughly 50% of Medtronic’s US$10 billion in annual surgical device sales.
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Medtronic spokesman John Jordan said “We have a significant presence and we were not looking to relocate out of Colorado. We have been there for decades. It was never in our desire to relocate 2,000 people outside of Colorado. It is strategically important to have those businesses remain stable and to continue to foster our growth there.” He emphasized that the Colorado consolidation doesn’t affect its plans in Minnesota. Before Medtronic bought Dublin, Ireland-based Covidien PLC in 2014, it had 8,000 employees in Minnesota. At the time, it promised to add workers in Minnesota and it has, he said.
Lafayette Economic Development Manager Brigid Keating said Colorado state, city, and county officials were delighted to see Medtronic consolidate and grow locally. Officials are excited at the prospect of gaining 500 to 1,000 new Medtronic lab and factory employees, all of whom are expected to be highly trained biotech experts who will be paid roughly US$131,000 a year, she said. The state of Colorado agreed to give Medtronic US$24.8 million worth of tax credits to help with the project.
