It appears that Hewlett-Packard (HP) will be moving 800 jobs from Colorado Springs to Rio Rancho, New Mexico (just outside Albuquerque.)

This is great news for the Albuquerque real estate market. While HP management is being a bit cagey about the move (the Rocky Mountain News reported that HP spokesman Dave Berman said the New Mexico center's effect on Colorado Springs hadn't been determined because staffing details were still being considered), news about the move is being widely circulated in the media in both Albuquerque and Colorado Springs.

The call center in Colorado Springs will be closed, and sources indicate that employees who do not agree to make the move will lose their jobs. Those who do move will be eligible for help with relocation expenses, according to an article in the New Mexico Independent.

I've now got first-hand confirmation of this move. Last week, I worked with an out-of-town buyer who is an HP employee slated to move to NM. He'll be among those accepting the relocation offer, and explaind to me that employees will have to move by June, but that the company has told him that if he gets his house sold sooner, he'll be able to transfer to the Rio Rancho location any time before that.

This should be a shot-in-the-arm for real estate sales in Rio Rancho, and indeed for the entire greater Albuquerque real estate market.

In addition to the employees relocating from Colorado Springs, HP plans to hire a large number of local residents, making this good news for the Albuquerque job market, too. Jon Flaxman, HP's executive vice president and chief administrative officer indicated that the payroll ultimately could reach $50-$60 million a year. This is great economic news for Albuquerque. The 1200+ jobs HP is projecting will be a welcome boost to the NM employment base.