CGI (NYSE: GIB) (TSX: GIB.A) today announced that it will establish a new onshore information technology (IT) services delivery center in Lafayette, Louisiana. The location will be CGI’s fifth Onshore Center of Excellence and create as many as 400 new, high-quality IT jobs in southwest Louisiana. The annual economic impact of CGI’s Lafayette center is estimated to more than $90 million over the next five years.
Governor Bobby Jindal said, “CGI is among the world’s leading providers of IT and business process services and represents yet another significant win for Louisiana’s fast-growing technology sector. This project provides further validation of our work to create a new Louisiana. Companies are choosing Louisiana because we offer a highly rated business climate and a competitive workforce with great talent and desire. The arrival of CGI in Lafayette means we will retain even more of our best and brightest graduates while also recruiting out-of-state talent who will recognize Louisiana as the next great state for business and career opportunity.”
“We welcome the opportunity to contribute to the economic growth and vision of Lafayette and the surrounding region,” said Dr. James Peake, Lt. Gen. (Ret) President, CGI Federal, a wholly owned subsidiary of CGI, serving clients in the civilian, defense and intelligence sectors of the U.S. government. “Our partnership with Lafayette represents a groundbreaking model for CGI – bringing together the local community to identify opportunities for innovation that can be applied globally, while tapping the talent and resources of Louisiana. As a continuation of our relationship with the state, this partnership will help create 400 jobs and serve as a model of corporate-community cooperation for keeping technology jobs in America. We congratulate the State of Louisiana and the Lafayette community on this comprehensive, innovative program.”
CGI’s onshore delivery model focuses on creating high-quality IT jobs in America. It is a core element of the company’s business strategy to offer affordable IT services options to government and commercial clients. The company continually looks for locations offering access to a quality workforce, strong economics and partnerships with state and local government, academia and industry. With its continued growth and technology-savvy workforce, Lafayette is a perfect partner for CGI. CGI selected Lafayette after a nearly two-year site-selection process during which many locations across the country were considered. CGI also has onshore delivery centers in Lebanon, VA, Troy, AL and Belton, TX, as well as a regional center of excellence in Athens, OH.
“CGI recognizes that Lafayette is an economic, technical, educational and cultural hub of Louisiana,” said Dave Henderson, CGI senior vice president. “It is uniquely positioned within the state as a community that can bring innovation to our market by leveraging strengths, such as cutting edge fiber optic communications provided by the city. It has one of the fastest growing workforces in the state, fed by one of the top-ranked computer science programs in the country – one that has a unique partnership with the local community college. All of this is accented by the cultural diversity and the unique 'joie de vivre' of the region.”
As an anchor tenant of the 143-acre Research Park of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, CGI will occupy a new $13.1 million, 50,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility designed to bring world-class IT consulting capabilities to CGI’s clients. The project also includes a state-funded, 10-year, $4.5 million higher education initiative led by University of Louisiana at Lafayette that will result in a tripling of the number of undergraduate degrees awarded annually by the University’s School of Computing and Informatics. That growth is anticipated to place the university’s computer science program among the Top 25 such programs nationally for the number of bachelor’s degrees awarded annually.
“This collaboration will enable the University of Louisiana at Lafayette to build on its strong legacy in computer science,” UL Lafayette President Joseph Savoie said. “Through our strategic partnership with CGI, we will provide students with the knowledge and specific computer science skills needed by the software industry. This marriage of higher education and business will lead to innovation that is an essential element of today’s knowledge economy. By providing professionals needed by high-tech companies, UL Lafayette will play a key role in developing Louisiana’s economy.”
“We are excited to welcome CGI to our community,” Lafayette City-Parish President Joey Durel said. “The jobs that they are bringing to Lafayette are exactly those we envisioned when we started the fiber project 10 years ago – the jobs that are good, clean, high-paying and help our young people stay home. So it is great to see our fiber investment take root in tangible ways like this one. We are thrilled to work with CGI and its members to help make Lafayette the best place to work, live, and raise a family.”
“Today’s announcement by CGI is the culmination of more than 30 years of building a reputation that Lafayette, LA, is a premier technology hub – not only in the South but in the entire Unites States,” said President and CEO Gregg Gothreaux of the Lafayette Economic Development Authority. “CGI officials recognize the strength of UL Lafayette’s superior education programs and specialized centers, and the community’s assets and innovative spirit. CGI’s decision to locate more than 400 jobs in Lafayette is another step in keeping our highly trained graduates in the area and in attracting those who want to make their home in Acadiana. At LEDA, we look forward to continuing our work with CGI as they become an integral part of the University’s Research Park and of our community.”
Construction on the new facility will begin this year with plans to be completed by year-end 2015. CGI will begin hiring in the next few months and begin operations at a temporary location in late 2014.
About CGI
Founded in 1976, CGI Group Inc. is the fifth largest independent information technology and business process services firm in the world. Approximately 68,000 professionals serve thousands of global clients from offices and delivery centers across the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific, leveraging a comprehensive portfolio of services including high-end business and IT consulting, systems integration, application development and maintenance, infrastructure management as well as a wide range of proprietary solutions. With annual revenue in excess of C$10 billion and an order backlog exceeding C$19 billion, CGI shares are listed on the TSX (GIB.A) and the NYSE (GIB). Website: www.cgi.com.
For more information
Investors
Lorne Gorber
Senior Vice-President, Global Communications and Investor Relations
lorne.gorber@cgi.com
+1 514-841-3355
Media
Linda Odorisio
Vice-President, Global Communications
Linda.odorisio@cgi.com
+1 703-267-8118
