A major new Fort Worth manufacturing project promises jobs tied to the artificial intelligence boom, even as North Texas communities debate the electricity, water and taxpayer costs of the data centers driving that demand.
Carrier Global Corporation announced Thursday that it plans to spend more than $600 million over three years on a manufacturing and engineering center at AllianceTexas.
The company projects 1,500 jobs and expects operations to begin in 2027.
The proposed facility exceeds 1 million square feet and would produce commercial cooling equipment for data centers, hospitals, schools and industrial customers.
Carrier plans to manufacture equipment that supports data centers, not operate a new data center at the Fort Worth site. The project could benefit from growing computing infrastructure without necessarily creating the same electricity demand or water-use profile as the server campuses themselves. Carrier has not disclosed site-specific power and water projections in its announcement.
Manufacturing Jobs And H-1B Visa Use
The positions will span manufacturing, engineering and other functions, Carrier says. The company has not supplied a complete breakdown of occupations, salaries or hiring deadlines for its 1,500-job projection.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 14% growth in employment for industrial machinery mechanics, maintenance workers and millwrights from 2025 to 2035, partly because automated manufacturing equipment requires human maintenance.
Its outlook for heating, air conditioning and refrigeration technicians projects 11% employment growth from 2025 to 2035. These national forecasts do not predict Carrier’s specific hiring.
Carrier Corporation has previously sponsored workers through the federal H-1B visa program.
In an October 23 review of federal records, The Dallas Express found that Carrier Corporation, an entity within Carrier Global’s corporate structure, received 11 H-1B petition approvals in fiscal year 2025, including three for new employment, two for continuing employment, four for changes of employer and two for amended petitions.
The company recorded three additional petition approvals in fiscal year 2026 through the third quarter, the latest period available in the database. USCIS maintains historical employer records dating to fiscal year 2009. These are petition approvals, not necessarily 14 distinct workers or 14 new hires.
The database identifies Carrier Corporation under its Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, address. The records do not establish whether Carrier intends to sponsor H-1B workers at its planned Fort Worth manufacturing facility.
Routine production jobs generally differ from the specialty occupations eligible for the H-1B program, although certain engineering and technical positions may qualify. Carrier has not disclosed the full occupational breakdown of its 1,500 planned Fort Worth jobs or its anticipated use of the visa program.
Data Center Growth Brings Costs And Opportunities
The market for large cooling systems is expanding alongside data center construction. Carrier said its investment responds to record backlogs across several commercial industries, including data centers. The factory would serve more than one industry, so all 1,500 projected jobs should not be attributed to artificial intelligence.
North Texas communities have debated where data centers belong and who should pay for supporting infrastructure.
As The Dallas Express previously covered, residents in Westlake and Keller raised concerns about noise, traffic, water demand and nearby homes in response to a proposed campus.
State officials have increased scrutiny. A September review involved 461 proposed data center projects in ERCOT’s large-load process, while an October inquiry from Attorney General Ken Paxton sought water-use information from 156 developments.
Gov. Greg Abbott directed state utility regulators in June to pursue measures preventing data center grid infrastructure costs from shifting onto residential electricity customers.
Fort Worth Approves $10.9 Million Tax Incentive Deal With Carrier
Fort Worth’s role extends beyond welcoming a private employer. The Fort Worth City Council approved a seven-year tax-abatement agreement with Carrier Corporation on September 15, following a public notice and hearing.
The agreement authorizes a 60% abatement of qualifying city property taxes, with an estimated value of $10.9 million, subject to investment and employment requirements.
The original agreement outlined approximately $433.8 million in qualifying investment and a minimum of 495 jobs. Carrier’s October 22 announcement subsequently projected more than $600 million in investment and 1,500 positions. Those figures reflect different stages of the project and do not establish a revised incentive amount.
Fort Worth City Council also established Tax Abatement Reinvestment Zone No. 121 for Carrier’s manufacturing facility at 1501 Distribution Drive. Council members also considered a resolution nominating the project for the Texas Enterprise Zone Program.
Publicly available materials do not establish whether Fort Worth has since revised the agreement’s performance conditions to reflect Carrier’s expanded projections. For taxpayers, the ultimate value will depend on completed investment, actual hiring and tax collections over the agreement’s life.
“By expanding our U.S. manufacturing and engineering footprint, we are increasing capacity for critical technologies, strengthening supply chain resilience and creating high-quality jobs,” Carrier Chairman and CEO David Gitlin said in the company’s October 22 press release.
