|
Gannett Considering Louisville,Kentucky
| | Gannet Co - 12/11/2006 | | |
Gannett Co. Inc., parent company of The Courier-Journal, may establish a 217-job call center in Louisville.
Gannett Vice President of Circulation Rob Althaus said the company is consolidating subscriber services at three U.S. locations. A call center opened in Greenville, S.C., last month serving 19 daily newspapers.
Workers at the centers handle calls about late or missing newspapers, vacation stops and other circulation issues.
Althaus said if the company chooses Louisville, the call center would serve about 25 daily newspapers, including The C-J. The estimated payroll of $6.4 million translates into an average of nearly $30,000 per year per worker.
The company would invest nearly $4 million in start-up costs. Althaus said the call center could go into unused space in The C-J's downtown offices or to another location. The C-J has 920 employees.
At yesterday's meeting of the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority in Frankfort, Gannett was approved for $3.25 million in tax incentives for up to 10 years.
Althaus said Gannett, based in McLean, Va., is waiting for a letter from the state to announce its decision. It should arrive next week.
If a call center opens in Louisville, the third center likely would go to a location in the Central or Mountain time zone, he said.
Gannett plans to connect the three centers, so if bad weather or other problems overload one center with calls, the other two can handle the carryover.
Gannett owns 90 daily newspapers in 41 states.
Eileen Pickett, senior vice president of community and economic development for Greater Louisville Inc., said a Gannett call center would be "a great opportunity to Louisville. It adds to the vitality of downtown, and that's very exciting."
| | | | Number of Employees: | 217 | | Square Footage: | NA | | | | Contact Name: | NA | | Contact Phone: | NA | | Contact Email: | NA | | Web Address: | NA | | City: | Louisville | | State: | Kentucky | | Country: | US | | |
|
