An Erie native is returning home and bringing his multi-million dollar company with him.
Erie is in the middle of a major transition, with community leaders trying to find a way to make up for the shift in manufacturing jobs. Local activists say one company’s decision to move its headquarters to Erie is a step in the right direction.
Jeremy Young is bringing his 20 years of experience and his business back home. He’s the president of Federal Resources Corporation based in Virginia, but Young is moving the cybersecurity company to Erie.
Community leaders aren’t just hoping more people choose to work in the downtown area. They’re also incentivising those employees to live there too.
Young says, “It’s a downtown living stipend. Really, what we want to do is encourage our employees if you’re working downtown, to be able to live downtown.”
Federal Resources currently employ around 15 people, but within the next 45 days, they hope to hire five to ten more workers. Young tells us they plan to add 10-15 positions every year for the next several years. “With the universities in a 15-mile radius of downtown Erie, there’s a great talent pool that we can leverage.”
The CEO of the Erie Downtown Development Corporation, John Persinger, says supporting growing companies like this one will keep college students and locals from seeking work in other cities. “We’ve seen brain drain for decades and this is going to put a stop to it, but this is only the beginning. We’ve got a lot of work to do. We’ve got a lot of work downtown and throughout the city.”
The owner tells us there are already job postings listed on their website. The positions available are primarily inside sales and back office operations. He says they’re working to finalize a headquarters location.
