CenturyLink will keep it’s corporate headquarters in Monroe through 2025. The company, which employs over 2,200 workers in the state at a payroll of 200 million dollars, announced the agreement with Governor Edwards earlier today.

Economic Development Secretary Don Pearson says securing the north Louisiana campus was vital for the state’s tech economy.

“It’s one of the largest companies in terms of it’s global footprint in Louisiana. It’s in a leading technology sector, so I would rank it as a very high importance.”

CenturyLink is the second largest US communications provider to global enterprise customers.

Pearson says the deal was secured through an incentive package, and a commitment to continue building the worker pipeline that feeds the workforce needs of big tech companies.

“Full support coming from the entire north Louisiana educational community. Louisiana Tech, Louisiana at Monroe, with Grambling, and with Delta Community College.”

The incentive package includes a performance based grant based on the CenturyLink’s payroll performance.

As part of the deal, the state also agreed to invest two million dollars in education grants to enhance the STEM and IT curriculum.

“Those will be state dollars going to our universities, to train our Louisiana students to take these important jobs at these tech companies.”

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