By Elizabeth Behrman, Times Staff Writer
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Meru Networks, a technology company based in Sunnyvale, Calif., announced Thursday that it plans to open an office in Tampa and create 60 local sales jobs.
The company will be eligible for tax refunds if it meets its hiring goals of 50 people by the end of this year and another 10 by the close of 2013. The state, county and city tax refunds are worth $240,000, or $4,000 per job, under the Qualified Target Industry Program, which is designed to attract new or growing businesses to Florida.
The yearly salaries will range from $45,000 to $75,000, more than 150 percent of the average local wage, said Rick Homans, CEO of the Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corporation.
Meru Networks develops and sells virtualized wireless enterprise networking systems, allowing business networks to be accessed wirelessly and from mobile devices.
"The information technology cluster is an area that shows incredible promise and potential," Homans said about the importance of bringing technology companies to the area. "Anytime we can add to the mix and strengthen the cluster, it's good for Tampa and Hillsborough County."
Representatives from Meru Networks were not available for comment.