SAN ANTONIO – The city of San Antonio and Southwest Airlines Thursday announced an agreement that will expand the airline's call center in San Antonio and bring more than 300 new jobs to the city.
As part of the deal, the city council authorized more than $581,000 in incentives over ten years.
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"We're ready for an even greater partnership with Southwest and over the next few years we look forward to even better things," Mayor Julian Castro said.
Southwest Airlines has signed a new lease to move into a former K-Mart on I-35 at O'Connor on the city's north east side. The airline is investing more than four million dollars in the facility and is moving its 478 current call center employees into the facility and adding another 322 by the end of the year.
"Their presence in this facility will help serve as a catalyst of economic growth, job creation and revitalization in this targeted area where we need redevelopment," City Manager Sheryl Sculley said.
"In total, this will bring Southwest's employment in San Antonio up to close to 1,000 people, " Vice President Airline Affairs for Southwest Airlines Bob Montgomery said. "We will have 800 at our call center and we have 181 agents and employees at our San Antonio station."
Montgomery said the airline's acquisition of AirTran was one of the reasons for the expansion and called San Antonio's efforts to get the jobs very competitive.
"You have put together the tools that enable businesses to locate here," Montgomery said. "You have a quality of life that is unmatched anywhere in this country and it produces great employees for us to have in our call center."