Guadalajararuns on a handful of strong industries. If you’re job-hunting or weighing a move, here’s where the opportunities (and the big-name employers) are.
Top industries & employers
Semiconductors & electronics manufacturing
Intel, HP, Flex, Jabil, Sanmina, Foxconn, Continental
The El Salto and Zapopan corridors have assembled electronics since the 1960s, which is where the 'Mexican Silicon Valley' label came from. Intel's Guadalajara Design Center runs silicon design and validation with around a thousand engineers.
Software & IT services
Oracle, IBM, Wizeline, Luxoft, Globant, Encora
Oracle runs one of its largest development centres outside the United States here, and IBM's technology campus works on AI, cloud and analytics. Around a thousand technology companies in the metro area sit inside a Jalisco electronics, software and ICT sector employing over 130,000 people.
Tequila & agave
Cuervo, Sauza, Herradura, Tequila Patrón, Casa Noble
The tequila denomination of origin is centred on Jalisco, and the agave landscape around the town of Tequila an hour north-west is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is a serious export industry, not a tourist novelty.
Pharmaceuticals & medical devices
Laboratorios PiSA, Laboratorios Sophia, Grupo Bruluart
PiSA is one of Mexico's largest pharmaceutical groups and Sophia is a leading Latin American ophthalmic manufacturer — both are Guadalajara-founded and still headquartered here.
Retail, food & consumer
Farmacias Guadalajara (Fragua), Grupo Omnilife, Grupo Bimbo plants, Nestlé
Farmacias Guadalajara grew from a single local pharmacy into a national chain of thousands of stores, and the state's dairy, berry and agave supply chains feed national and export food processing.
Higher education & research
Universidad de Guadalajara, ITESO, Tec de Monterrey campus Guadalajara, UAG
The Universidad de Guadalajara is one of Mexico's largest public universities and the engineering pipeline it feeds is the main reason the multinationals stayed. CINVESTAV's Guadalajara unit anchors the research end.
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