McDonnell Announces Arrival of Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman decided late last year to relocate their corporate headquarters from Los Angeles to somewhere within the metropolitan D.C. area…which began a frantic competition between Virginia, Maryland and the District.

During their search…Virginia extended its initial 2.3 billion dollar information technology services contract with Northrop Grumman by three years. The extension came after years of complaints from state agencies of poor service, something both the state and Northrop Grumman say will be addressed by this new agreement, which will require the commonwealth to pay an additional 12 million dollars a year.

Governor Bob McDonnell says that the contract extension was a positive development…but that there were many other factors leading to the choice of Virginia.

McDonnell: We used the tools that were available to us through the Governor’s Opportunity Fund and other jobs investment funds and other grant funds to provide some incentives to Northrop Grumman. I think at the end of the day they felt good about Virginia’s climate. It’s a good place for their families to move and this was the best place for them to do business. This means tens and tens of millions of dollars of economic impact for Virginia in new tax revenues in the near future.

The Fortune 100 company employs a total of over 120,000, with 30,000 of those already in Virginia. The move will bring about 300 executive positions to the commonwealth.

Craig Carper, WCVE News, Capitol Square.