The Fort Worth City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved tax breaks that may bring an estimated $186 million investment and create 241 full-time jobs paying an average of $75,000 to the company’s existing Fort Worth campus at 6201 S. Freeway.
The seven-year tax abatement agreement with the eye care company is worth up to $6 million.
If the company moves both manufacturing lines to Fort Worth, the city would give the company 70% of the grant rate or about $4.2 million. The company would be required to make an investment in real estate and equipment totaling $186 million by the end of 2028. Alcon would also have to meet a minimum average annual salary of $75,000 and maintain 241 jobs.
City estimates show the return on investment in one year would include $3.5 million in new tax revenue for the city.
“Founded in Fort Worth more than 75 years ago, Alcon has a long track record of working closely with the city to promote economic growth, create good jobs and expand the local bioscience industry,” according to Steven Smith, an Alcon spokesperson. “As we continue to optimize our global eye care manufacturing footprint, we appreciate the support of the Fort Worth City Council for our intent to bring additional production capabilities and manufacturing employment to Fort Worth. We look forward to completing a definitive agreement with the city.”
Fort Worth is competing against sites in the U.S. and internationally as eye care giant Alcon considers making the manufacturing moves that company officials say are related to changes in market conditions and a search for operational efficiencies.
In a report to the council during the Sept. 23 work session, Kelly Baggett, innovation coordinator in the city’s economic development department, said these changes in market conditions and a search for operational efficiencies have led the company with U.S. headquarters in Fort Worth to reevaluate the location of some business units. As a result, company leaders are conducting a site search to relocate its viscoelastic surgical devices product line from Belgium and its single-dose pharmaceutical product line from France.
If both lines move to Fort Worth, it would be a significant expansion, Baggett told the council, and mean a 15% increase in employees for the company’s local operations. Alcon, which makes contact lenses and eye care devices, traces its history in Fort Worth back to 1945.
Baggett said if only one of the lines relocates to the area, the city’s proposed incentives would be reduced depending on which manufacturing line comes to the city.
The shift of the manufacturing lines to the United States could be a result of tariffs, according to company statements from Alcon officials.
Alcon officials forecasted a full-year gross tariff impact of about $100 million, up from the $80 million it had previously estimated, according to the company’s second-quarter results earnings call. In a conference call, company leaders said they expect to offset those costs through operational changes and foreign exchange movements.
Alcon was founded in Fort Worth and merged with Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis in 2011. It then became its own publicly traded company in 2019, headquartered in Geneva. But it continues to have major operations in Fort Worth and is one of the city’s largest employers with about 4,500 workers.
In August, Fort Worth nominated Alcon’s campus for the Texas Enterprise Zone Program, which would allow for a state sales and use refund for up to $1.2 million over five years to help with upgrades. Alcon is planning $40 million in facility improvements at its 6201 S. Freeway building, including mechanical, electrical and plumbing upgrades.
Bob Francis is business editor for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at bob.francis@fortworthreport.org.
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