Impact of Koch Industries is Felt in 50 States

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Say what you want about the politics of the Koch brothers, but their Koch companies in 2015 directly employed nearly 60,000 people in 50 states and the District of Columbia. The Wichita, Kansas based company also paid compensation and benefits totaling more than $5.5 billion according to a recent study by the independent economic research firm Harrah Analytics.

Among the Koch companies included in the analysis are Wichita-based Koch Industries, Inc., Flint Hills Resources and INVISTA, Atlanta-based Georgia-Pacific, and Lisle, Illinois-based Molex Incorporated. The analysis does not include the nearly 7,800 contractors who work for Koch companies in the United States, nor the 7,000 additional U.S.-based employees of companies affiliated with Koch. It also does not include the 2,300 open roles currently available across Koch companies.

Koch companies also buy goods and services from local businesses (indirect impacts), and Koch employees spend their earnings on food, housing, entertainment and more (induced impacts). This combined spending translates to Koch companies supporting a total of more than 200,000 jobs and compensation of nearly $13.5 billion – an increase from $13 billion in 2014, Harrah Analytics determined in its study.

The study showed the top 10 states in terms of jobs were Texas, Georgia, Alabama, Wisconsin, Arkansas, South Carolina, Kanas, Florida, Mississippi and Oregon in that order. Texas has nearly 8,500 direct jobs and more than 33,000 total jobs from Koch. It also is number one for $827,000,000 in direct compensation and $2.3 billion in total compensation.

In Oklahoma, Koch Nitrogen operates a plant in Enid. Koch Pipeline Co. LP operates 4,000 miles of pipeline in several states including Oklahoma.