This is at least the second time a Gannett business has won a tax break for creating jobs in one city, while simultaneously eliminating jobs elsewhere. CareerBuilder had threatened to leave Chicago without the public money."Most of the laid-off workers are from the Chicago corporate headquarters," the East Valley Tribune near Phoenix, Ariz., reports. "However, some have also been let go from the Atlanta offices. The company’s public information office in Chicago refused to answer questions about the layoffs, although a telephone call by the East Valley Tribune to a branch office near O’Hare Airport confirmed the layoffs were made Friday morning."
CareerBuilder won the nearly $3 million in Tax Increment Financing to help pay for an $11.6 million renovation of Chicago office space at 200 North LaSalle St., the city's Department of Planning and Development said in a statement on Oct. 8.
"Eight hundred employees will be located at the headquarters,'' the statement says. "CareerBuilder will also retain 615 positions at three other affiliate offices in Chicago, and add 185 jobs over the next two years. CareerBuilder had been considering relocating the majority of its employees to one of its other locations before selecting Chicago for its corporate headquarters."
The impact of any layoffs on the Tax Increment Financing isn't clear. I've asked CareerBuilder and the Chicago planning department for comment.
Earlier tax breaks in Indiana
Gannett owns 50.8% of CareerBuilder. Tribune Co., which just filed for bankruptcy protection, owns 30.8%. The rest is held by McClatchy Co. and Microsoft.
In September, the state of Indiana agreed to give GCI up to $935,000 in tax credits for creating up to 200 jobs at a new finance center in Indianapolis. A second finance center is being developed in Springfield, Mo. The centers will consolidate accounting and other work that's been done at the local level across Gannett. A net 167 jobs were to be eliminated in this consolidation.
Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write gannettblog[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the green sidebar, upper right.
OMG
ReplyDeletethe sad thing is I am not surprised
ReplyDeleteOkay I have read this twice. What relevance does it have other than sound financial management?
ReplyDeleteI agree with the previous poster. Also, did they give Gannett the money or Career Builder. You make this sound like Gannett stole money and then didn't give what they were supposed to give. Gannett barely owns a majority. Get real!!
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I'm not Craig and company, just a working stiff that calls them like I see them.
Are you trying to stir something up out of nothing?
Nice reporting, Hopk. Stay on it.
ReplyDeleteJesus effin' Christ, these corporadoes have no shame.
This watchdog style is what I miss seeing in newspapers. You see, I'm a frugal and pissed taxpayer. I want to know any and every single time a company tells a government entity it will create jobs or do something in order to earn tax breaks. I honestly want to know whether or not the company did what it said it would. I don't want a press release with official blah blah spin talk. I want to know the truth.
ReplyDeleteIf CareerBuilder agreed to accept tax breaks, I want to rest assured knowing they created jobs or remodeled a blighted area or did whatever they said they'd do.
If Gannett accepts abatements and training dollars for the Indy center, by gosh they'd better by golly make damn well sure they fulfill their part of the agreement. I can demand that. It's my tax money. You should be equally demanding, 7:19 PM and 7:39PM.
This is all about holding people accountable for agreements. I'm so excited Jim wrote this, I'm sending him some more money---right now.
7:19 and 7:39 -- Sound financial management? Taking taxpayer money to provide a service to a community and then providing something far weaker than promised?
ReplyDeleteTell you what. Why don't you pay your property taxes twice this year? I know you're only supposed to do it once. But since we decided to give Career Builder a handout, we have a shortfall. Now we need you to make up the difference. And please don't complain. This is just sound financial management.
OK!!! Success!! Something was stirred up out of nothing!!!!
ReplyDeleteP.S. Like I said, I'm just a working stiff, not a "corporadoes" anything.
As far as paying my taxes twice, what the hell do you know about where your property tax dollars or any other tax dollars go for crying out loud? That's a meaningless jab.
It's public record where tax dollars go. Granted it may not be property tax dollars that help with programs like this, but it's a public handout one way or the other.
ReplyDeleteThe bottom line is, Gannett & CB accepted tax breaks for creating jobs, then they eliminated more jobs than they agreed to create. It's all for their own benefit. Matt, Brent, Mary, Richard & the big-wigs at Gannett will still get their large bonuses and large paychecks, and 400+ ex CB and Gannett employees get a not-so-Merry Christmas.
ReplyDeleteFunny how they cancelled the Holiday Party - yet they are still going to Pay George HW Bush hundreds of thousands of dollars to speak in January.
Very frugal.
Was wondering if Gannett got any tax breaks (abatements or training grants) for the service center in Springfield similar to the ones the company got in Indy. Anyone know?
ReplyDeleteI've heard that the plans to have a conference of some type in Cabo San Lucas is still on.... Interesting. Another AIG?????
ReplyDelete