Engineering and construction giant URS Corp. reportedly is moving a division that employs 500 in Boise, Idaho, to Denver by the end of this year.
The San Francisco-based company disclosed plans to relocate its Washington Division during an executive meeting in Houston last month, according to Mountain States Construction, a trade publication.
URS officials didn’t return calls seeking comment Friday.
“I know that they’ve been here. I know that they’ve been looking at properties,” said Don Marostica, director of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade. “They have not met with our office.”
Thomas Zarges, president of URS’s Washington Division, told the Idaho Statesman that not all of the division’s jobs will move.
“There will obviously be some movement, but not lock, stock and barrel,” Zarges said. “We still haven’t quite decided either on the pace or the ultimate movement of people and their numbers.”
The Washington Division was created after URS acquired Boise-based Washington Group International in 2007 for $3.1 billion in cash and stock.
In December, URS announced it would rebrand the Washington Division, responsible for energy and construction projects, under the URS name, effective Jan. 1. The company also rebranded EG&G, its federal services division, placing all of its business units under a single corporate name.
Tom Clark, executive vice president of the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp., said Friday that his organization has been in discussions with a major engineering firm about a relocation. He wouldn’t disclose the name of the company.
Marostica said Thursday that two companies in the next two weeks plan to announce the creation of about 500 jobs in the state. That is in addition to URS’s reported move.
Andy Vuong: 303-954-1209 or avuong@denverpost.com
Company employs 45,000 worldwide
URS Corp. say it focusing on four key market sectors: federal, infrastructure, power, and industrial and commercial. It employs 45,000 people worldwide and posted revenue of $10.9 billion in 2008. It has about 1,600 workers in Colorado.
