FedEx asks for tax break to add 90 jobs

A well-known third-party logistics company that has long had a facility in Greenwood is expanding and adding 90 jobs to its local operations.

FedEx Supply Chain, 700 Commerce Parkway, needs to expand to meet one client’s growing needs for services, said Leslie Wagner, a principal site adviser with Ginovus LLC.

Interdesign, Inc. is an Ohio-based international housewares and home fashions company that uses FedEx Supply Chain for its shipping and receiving services.

“Quite frankly, their growth just exploded,” Wagner said.

The city’s redevelopment commission on Tuesday unanimously approved a five-year tax break worth about $158,000 for up to $4.4 million in machinery and other equipment. The company will pay about $87,000 in personal property taxes over the life of the abatement, and more than $1.2 million in real property taxes during that same time frame, according to city documents.

FedEx Supply Chain plans to lease a 235,000-square-foot speculative building in Greenwood.

“We looked at multiple markets before deciding on this new location, including Louisville, Ky. and Columbus, Ohio, in addition to Johnson and Marion counties,” Wagner said.

Ultimately, Greenwood was selected because FedEx Supply Chain has experience in the city and knows the workforce, and due to the availability of an existing building.

“In today’s speed to market, it’s everything. The ability to have that existing building ready to occupy was very helpful,” Wagner said.

Currently, FedEx Supply Chain has 250 employees in Greenwood and 1,100 in the central Indiana region. Ninety more will work at the new Greenwood facility, officials said. All of those jobs will be full-time and pay, on average, $16.29 an hour, not including the cost of benefits or training.

New jobs will include supervisors, engineers and forklift operators, as well as in other areas such as human resources, quality and inventory control, safety and shipping and receiving.

“FedEx has been a great city partner for a number of years,” said Dana Monson, Johnson County Development Corp. director, who helped the company with its expansion and abatement application.