Cover illustration: AI-generated concept of a generic manufacturing facility.

A vacant Henrietta building is slated for optical-component production, with a spring 2027 opening and a multiyear hiring plan.

TE Connectivity plans to turn a vacant building in Henrietta into an advanced manufacturing and research facility, a project New York officials say will create more than 860 jobs in Monroe County. This initiative is crucial for TE Connectivity Henrietta’s growth.

The November 12 announcement puts the project cost at more than $62 million. Empire State Development is offering up to $22 million in performance-based Excelsior Jobs Tax Credits in exchange for the planned jobs, according to Governor Kathy Hochul’s office.

The facility is expected to open in spring 2027, with manufacturing growing through 2031. Those dates describe the company’s plan. The announcement does not mean the jobs have already been filled or that the full operation is ready to begin.

A former retail building will house optical technology

The company will reuse a 135,000-square-foot building at 1600 Marketplace Drive. State and local officials identify the property as a former Sam’s Club.

TE says the site will develop and produce high-density fiber array units and related optical connectivity products for large AI data centers and cloud providers. The technology came from its acquisition of RAM Photonics, according to the company’s announcement.

In plain terms, the project concerns hardware that helps connect data-center systems. TE says the optical products are designed to support more densely packed equipment while reducing power needs. These are the company’s stated goals for its technology, not independently measured results from the new Henrietta plant.

The company says the expansion will support work in engineering, manufacturing and management. It has not supplied a role-by-role hiring schedule, pay scale or list of immediate openings in the releases reviewed for this report.

Different announcements use different levels of detail

The state’s release gives a project cost of more than $62 million and a commitment to more than 860 jobs. TE’s own release describes an investment above $60 million and plans to employ more than 800 people in the greater Rochester region.

Those broader company figures are consistent with the more detailed state announcement, but they should remain attributed to their sources. Monroe County Executive Adam Bello separately described proposed plans for up to 866 jobs.

The tax-credit offer is also a maximum, not a report that $22 million has already been paid. The governor’s office describes the credits as performance-based. The underlying incentive agreement, annual milestones and any repayment provisions were not available in the material reviewed.

Monroe County and Greater Rochester Enterprise are assisting the project. The announcement does not assign a dollar amount to every form of local assistance, so the state credit figure should not be described as the project’s complete public-support total.

Why Henrietta, and what it means for the Mohawk Valley

The governor’s office points to the Finger Lakes region’s established optics industry, including more than 150 optics, photonics and imaging companies employing about 19,000 people. It also cites nearby college programs and research institutions as sources of technical expertise.

This project is in the Rochester area, not Utica or the Mohawk Valley. The release does not announce a local satellite facility, a Mohawk Valley hiring event or a guaranteed contract for a local supplier.

There is a broader statewide workforce connection. The governor’s office notes that the Finger Lakes, Mohawk Valley and Capital regions were selected in February 2025 for the planning stage of the $200 million ON-RAMP advanced-manufacturing workforce program. Central New York’s Syracuse location is the flagship.

That training initiative is separate from this factory investment. Selection for planning does not establish that a particular Mohawk Valley resident is enrolled in training or has a job waiting at TE.

What to watch next

The next useful developments will be construction progress, confirmed hiring notices and the company’s opening announcement. Applicants should check TE Connectivity’s official website for current company information rather than treating a projected job count as an open recruitment notice.

VoiceMV’s report on New York’s AI safety research center covers a separate state initiative. The Henrietta project concerns data-center components, not the Binghamton-based safety research program.

Sources and review limits

This report draws on the Governor’s November 12 announcement and TE Connectivity’s same-day company release.