Tobyhanna Army Depot’s job numbers grow

(AP) Tobyhanna Army Depot in Monroe County, the region’s largest industrial employer, is about get bigger.

More than 200 people will be hired at the depot next year, said Deputy Commander Frank Zardecki.

“We’re going to see a significant increase in workload next year,” Zardecki said. “We had a job fair about six weeks ago at the depot on a Saturday and it was 90 degrees and 1,800 people showed up to apply for jobs. It shows you the talent is available.”

Zardecki came to the Northeastern Pennsylvania Alliance offices in Pittston Township on Tuesday, where Lt. Gov. Mike Stack and colleagues discussed results of a new Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats study.

The study, sponsored by the Pennsylvania Military Community Enhancement Commission, showed Tobyhanna Army Depot annually generates an economic impact of about $2 billion.

The analysis also showed Tobyhanna directly and indirectly generates 7,341 jobs and nearly $472 million labor income annually in Northeast Pennsylvania. Of that number, 3,388 work at Tobyhanna Army Depot.

In all, the state’s 12 major military installations generate about 55,000 jobs in the state, $4 billion in labor income and $11 billion in total economic output, according to the study.

“Tobyhanna is crucial in Pennsylvania, but particularly here in Northeastern Pennsylvania,” Stack said. “It’s the leading job creator and we have to do everything we can to protect that leading job creator.”

The University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Social and Urban Research completed the analysis that calls for continued support of Tobyhanna Army Depot and all of the state’s military installations even though there has been little talk in Washington, D.C., about base closures.

Stack, who is chairman of the Pennsylvania Military Community Enhancement Commission, said part of the commission’s mission is to be prepared to defend the state’s military installations to Washington, D.C., officials “when the time comes why we’re so important.”

In Pennsylvania, the seventh top employer is the Department of Defense, he said.

“We see a lot of politicians doing all kinds of flips to get Amazon to come here and other high-tech companies. We should spend a fraction of the amount of time and money and energy on making sure that we’re positioned well with our seventh top employer: the Department of Defense,” Stack said.

Stack was joined by state Sen. John Blake, D-22, Archbald, who said his father worked for Tobyhanna Army Depot for more than 30 years.

“The facility has gone through many changes throughout the years but now saying ‘state-of-the art’ is probably an understatement,” Blake said.

Over the past 10 years, Zardecki said more than $736 million was invested in modernizing Tobyhanna Army Depot.

“It is certainly a world-class facility,” Zardecki said. “We always look ahead to the future where we want to position ourselves.”

The Northeastern Pennsylvania Alliance, a regional economic and community development organization, manages a Blue Ribbon Task Force that provides community support for Tobyhanna Army Depot.

“We’re all about supporting Tobyhanna Army Depot on a regional basis here in Northeast Pennsylvania,” said Jeff Box, president and CEO of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Alliance. “The depot is still the region’s largest industrial employer and extremely important economically to Northeast Pennsylvania.”