Facebook may bring 200 jobs to Austin

AUSTIN (KXAN) - It may be the perfect fit: High-tech Austin and a social-media phenomenon.

Facebook, the networking site used by hundreds of millions, could bring some 200 jobs to the city some call the Silicon Valley of the South, Gov. Rick Perry announced on Thursday.

Perry announced Thursday that the state will invest $1.4 million through the Texas Enterprise Fund to try and attract a Facebook sales and operations office in Austin.

The City of Austin is offering a $200,000 incentive proposal for the move. The proposal includes a performance based grant over a 10-year period. It will have to before city council for a vote. The proposal will be presented to the City on March 11.

Austin is competing for the office with other undisclosed U.S. cities. The sales office would be the first for Facebook outside of Palo Alto, Calif. where the business is headquartered. The move would bring 200 jobs to the Austin area with an average salary of $54,000 a year.

Facebook is a social networking Web site used by 400 million people around the world.