Geico to add hundreds of Amherst jobs

[therising]

http://buffalo.bizjournals.com/buffa...8&ana=e_du_pub

Geico to add hundreds of Amherst jobs
Business First of Buffalo - by James Fink

Insurance industry giant Geico is expected to add 500 new jobs at its fast-growing Amherst operations center.

Geico representatives, along state and local leaders, are expected to announce Wednesday morning that the company will be opening a new subsidiary as part of its Northeast Operations Center in the CrossPoint Business Park. The subsidiary, which will work in conjunction with a Geico operation in Fredericksburg, Va., will handle calls and questions concerning its home insurance and liability packages.

Gov. David Paterson is expected to be in Amherst on Wednesday to join the announcement.

The Amherst Industrial Development Agency’s board of directors will consider an inducement package for the project during its Aug. 21 meeting. Empire State Development Corp. is offering Geico an incentive package for the project.

Sources said Geico is expected to create 500 new jobs — most within the next few years — during the next decade because of the expansion. Geico has more than 2,000 workers in its Amherst center.

CrossPoint Business Park was developed by Uniland Development Co. and is home to such companies as CitiGroup and Bank of America.

The announcement comes as Buffalo seeks ways to expand its decreasing employment base. The online job search engine indeed.com reported Buffalo to be one of the least competitive markets in the nation with just one job opening for every six unemployed workers. Buffalo was tied with Rochester, Orlando, Sacramento and St. Louis, for 40th out of 50 on the list

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If anyone complains about traffic/wear and tear on the roads, etc, I swear, I will virtually choke you.

[Dougles]

http://buffalo.bizjournals.com/buffa...8&ana=e_du_pub
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If anyone complains about traffic/wear and tear on the roads, etc, I swear, I will virtually choke you.

Just think of all the extra people driving down N French now!! Just think of all the traffic!!


This is somewhat good news for the area! it's jobs! not the best one, but jobs none the less!

I'll just wait for Rev. what's his face to be mad these jobs aren't in the city or designed for his people!


Hey RUS and Tony, THIS should be your next protest! Go right to the source in Albany, the unelected governor!

[Surfing USA]

Oh great!!! These crappy bastards are going to be tying-up more phone lines.

[300miles]

If anyone complains about traffic/wear and tear on the roads, etc, I swear, I will virtually choke you.

I'm tempted... just to see what a virtually choke would look like.

[Surfing USA]

I'm tempted... just to see what a virtually choke would look like.

[therising]

Oh great!!! These crappy bastards are going to be tying-up more phone lines.

I told ya, you need to get rid of that antiquated party line.

[therising]

I'm tempted... just to see what a virtually choke would look like.

You wouldn't see it.

[hate politics]

waiting for someone to chime in and try to get the Geico employees to unionize! ha.

[300miles]

GEICO to add 300 jobs in Amherst

National auto insurer GEICO Corp. will be adding about 300 jobs to its Amherst service center, boosting employment at the giant service center to about 1,800, sources confirmed today.

Gov. Paterson is expected to make the formal announcement Wednesday at an 11 a.m. event at the CrossPoint Business Park facility.

The Washington, D.C.-based carrier, the nation's fourth largest private-passenger car insurer, will move a home insurance agency subsidiary to Amherst. The jobs are expected to be filled during the next two years.

The new jobs represent the first significant growth for the 251,000 square-foot center in at least two years. First announced in December 2003 with fanfare and more than $100 million in state Empire Zone tax breaks, the facility opened in March 2004 in temporary quarters on John Muir Drive, with 75 workers, before growing eventually moving to its new home in September 2005.

Originally designed and intended to house up to 2,500 workers, the $40 million two-story center was to have 1,400 claims employees and 1,100 in sales, service, underwriting and support functions when it reached its full potential over 10 years. It reached 830 in November 2005, mostly in sales, underwriting or service, and then expanded its claims operation before hitting 1,350 workers in October 2007. It has grown only slightly since.

http://www.buffalonews.com/home/story/767654.html

[300miles]

So somehow the new jobs decreased by 200 since this morning?
Hillary must have done the counting...

In all seriousness tho... I think that last article points out some important info. When they announced the geico deal 6 years ago with all the fanfare and back-patting, it was planned to employ 2500 people. They got up to 1350 by 2007. Now they are hiring a few hundred more. The point is... these increases are still part of the original hiring plan 6 years ago, and they're still not up to the 2500 job level that was intended. Goes to show how bad our memories are in WNY. (and also explains how we keep re-electing the same idiots to office)

[WNYresident]

Well how much of the tax break do they lose because they are behind in their hiring levels?

[300miles]

I don't think they're necessarily behind in their hiring levels. The original plan was for 2500 employees within 10 years. So they may well be on track for that by 2013.

But I don't think the media should be listing the new jobs as if they are in addition to the original 2500, when in fact we're still building our way up to that original number.

[Dougles]

I don't think they're necessarily behind in their hiring levels. The original plan was for 2500 employees within 10 years. So they may well be on track for that by 2013.

But I don't think the media should be listing the new jobs as if they are in addition to the original 2500, when in fact we're still building our way up to that original number.

your right it's very disceving! But i'm sure Patterson and Ranz are fine with it, it makes it look like their actually doing somthing!