Despite the ongoing pandemic, economic development activity in the Birmingham region remains relatively strong across 2020, said Birmingham Business Alliance (BBA) Interim President and CEO Fred McCallum at the BBA’s quarterly Board of Directors meeting.

McCallum said 22 companies – seven new and 15 existing in the region – have announced 842 jobs and $388.67 million in capital investments in the last 11 months. This year has seen major economic development announcements from companies like FedEx, Amazon, Lowe’s Home Improvement, Mobis US Alabama LLC and Motion Industries, Inc.

There are also 37 active projects in the pipeline, representing a potential 3,243 jobs and $1.02 billion in capital investment.

And, over the course of 2020, the BBA’s Business Retention and Expansion program has met with 181 companies – 136 existing and 45 scaleups – representing 16,879 local employees. Of these companies, 31 percent indicated expansion plans, representing 657 potential new jobs and over $124.4 million in potential capital investments.

“While COVID-19 has impacted announcement and project activity, the current project pipeline remains relatively strong given current market conditions,” McCallum said.