COMING SUNDAY
Call center companies are ranking as some of Ohio’s biggest job creators. Full story in Sunday’s Journal-News.
The international financial company Barclays, which is considering opening a call center for credit card services with 1,500 jobs in Greater Cincinnati, has its eyes on a location in Hamilton.
That’s based on a city council agenda released Friday. On the list of items for council members to consider at their next meeting Wednesday is a tax credit for Barclays Services.
But Hamilton city leaders can’t talk about the deal or the location in mind until the deal is closed and a lease is signed. The agenda said the location is to be determined.
The city is still in the courting period for Barclays, which has sought and received approval for an Ohio Job Creation Tax Credit that would lower its commercial activity tax bill to the state. Barclays will only receive the tax credit if it opens an Ohio call center.
The next part of the wooing process is for the company to pursue tax credits from the local government.
Hamilton’s economic development department is recommending council approve a tax credit of 85 percent for 10 years, a savings to the company of about $850,000 annually, according to a city staff report.
Estimates are that Barclays, which would have three years to create the promised amount of jobs in exchange for tax breaks, will generate nearly $50 million in new payroll a year in the city.
It's still possible that Barclays could choose another location elsewhere or scrap the project altogether, even if Hamilton council approves the tax credits. For example, a Chinese-based auto supplier canceled last year plans to build a Lebanon manufacturing plant despite securing a package of financial incentives to lure the investment here.
If Hamilton successfully recruits Barclays, it would be the second call center to announce an opening in the Butler County city this year — and this prospective deal is even bigger than the first.
It was announced in February that Colorado-based StarTek Inc., a business process outsourcing company, was planning to open a call center and hire about 682 people in downtown Hamilton. Since then, StarTek opened in July in the first phase of renovated space at the former Elder-Beerman building and now has about 75 workers including trainees, production and management, said Scott Farmer, StarTek's local site manager.
StarTek leased a floor in the former Elder-Beerman building at 150 High St., and renovations were scheduled to be completed on the rest of the space as early as Monday, Farmer said.
Currently the company is hiring about 200 temporary workers for a short-term project, but top performers have the opportunity to be hired permanently, he said. To apply, visit www.startek.com/careers and follow the prompts for applying to work in Hamilton.
“We’re really happy to be part of the business revitalization downtown,” he said.
When StarTek announced plans to create nearly 700 jobs in Hamilton, it was believe to be the city’s single largest announcement for new job creation in at least a decade. Barclays’ 1,500 jobs could top the list.
Barclays Services issues Visa and MasterCard credit cards as well as co-branded credit cards through partnerships with some 60 companies and institutions, according to economic development agency REDI Cincinnati. The company is growing, and plans to open a call center in the area represents a more than $9.3 million investment.
REDI Cincinnati, which is in charge of marketing the region to attract businesses, expects to win more business expansions in the future from call centers and corporate back-offices, said Kimm Coyner, managing director project team and JobsOhio for REDI.
“As we looked at large companies who are evaluating their operations, they start to understand they don’t need to be in one location, to have all of their services in a more expensive location,” Coyner said.
“Part of the advantage of our market is we are about 30 percent less expensive than the East or West coast,” Coyner said. “When you factor that in with our location, about 50 percent of the population can be reached within a day’s drive.”
“We have a depth of talent in this particular area,” she said.
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