The Dell facility is expected to have a $5-million annual payroll with an economic impact of $12 million. Twin Falls is in southern Idaho, 175 miles southeast of Boise.

The state of Idaho is to provide $2.4 million in workforce development funds to train the Dell workers. The company also qualifies for job and broadband tax credits. According to Southern Idaho Economic Development Director Jan Rogers, the company's annual payroll of $5 million will have a multiplier effect, contributing more than $12 million to the local economy each year.

Dell led Austin's 1990s economic boom by hiring thousands of workers and padding the portfolios of Central Texas investors who bought its skyrocketing stock. The company's Central Texas-centric growth shifted in 1999 when it opened manufacturing facilities in Tennessee and made plans for operations in Fort Worth. Then, in the past year, Dell cut 5,700 jobs as computer sales slowed. The company has about 16,000 workers in its Austin and Round Rock operations. CB Richard Ellis Inc. assisted job in its site search, which had four finalists.