Gannett collected $259,787 in rebates from Oklahoma's Quality Jobs program for a customer service call center in Tulsa, Okla., that it shuttered last week, less than five years after it opened, according to an Associated Press story today.
GCI didn't have any provision in its Quality Jobs contract that would have made the company pay anything back if it left the state, Oklahoma Tax Commission spokeswoman Paula Ross told the news service. Ross said it's rare to have a retention clause built into the program.
The Tulsa call center closed a week ago today. It opened in 2007 and at its peak, employed about 165 workers -- most of them part-time, according to the A.P., which quoted Corporate's top publicist, Robin Pence. As originally planned, the operation -- called a Center of Excellence -- was to employ as many as 500 people.
But it had only 150 employees when it closed. Some 131 jobs were effectively transferred to other, existing GCI sites, according to company documents.
Earlier: A "great fit" -- until Oklahoma tax breaks ran out?
GCI didn't have any provision in its Quality Jobs contract that would have made the company pay anything back if it left the state, Oklahoma Tax Commission spokeswoman Paula Ross told the news service. Ross said it's rare to have a retention clause built into the program.
The Tulsa call center closed a week ago today. It opened in 2007 and at its peak, employed about 165 workers -- most of them part-time, according to the A.P., which quoted Corporate's top publicist, Robin Pence. As originally planned, the operation -- called a Center of Excellence -- was to employ as many as 500 people.
But it had only 150 employees when it closed. Some 131 jobs were effectively transferred to other, existing GCI sites, according to company documents.
Earlier: A "great fit" -- until Oklahoma tax breaks ran out?
Gannett eliminated a lot of jobs at various newspapers displaced by the Center of Excellence. Lost millions as the Excellent Center screwed up subscription sales and now it turns out Gannett screwed Tulsa. Someone's going to get promoted!
ReplyDeleteCenters of Excellence -- another piece of #@%* thrown on the wall that didn't stick.
ReplyDeleteThere's a Gannett motto (like "It's all within reach") in there; "Centers of Excellence: It didn't stick but it did suck."
ReplyDeleteDid they move the jobs to Florida and get another government incentive in doing so?
ReplyDelete