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StumbleuponReynolds latest to leave downtown Dayton
Thursday, July 31, 2008
DAYTON — Persistent talk in recent months of Reynolds and Reynolds pulling 400 employees from its downtown call center on West Second Street became a reality Wednesday, July 30.
"Obviously, we expected this announcement," Shelley Dickstein, Dayton's assistant city manager for strategic development, said. "We're very disappointed to be losing the jobs in the city of Dayton."
Reynolds and Reynolds has pulled corporate functions to Kettering since it broke ground for a Miami Valley Research Park campus in 1997. The 400 call center jobs are being moved there.
Bruce Pearson, president and chief executive of Miami Valley Research Foundation, which owns the research park, said the move makes sense from a business perspective. Reynolds wants to unite software developers and employees who get customer questions about software.
David Dickerson, president and CEO of Gem Real Estate Group, said his employees are happy in the Barclay building downtown.
Dickerson said downtown does have its challenges: Parking can be tricky. Often businesses want to recruit employees from the Cincinnati market. And sometimes, companies simply want to be in new buildings.
Mark Schwieterman, Kettering city manager, said his city did not offer Reynolds and Reynolds an incentive package.
Recent downtown departures
September 2007: Key Bank announces it plans to close customer and call centers downtown, taking 150 to 200 jobs. The headquarters is to remain downtown.
August 2006: New Page Corp. says it will move 250 employees from the MeadWestvaco tower to Miami Twp.
July 2006: MeadWestvaco says it will move more than 200 employees to Kettering.
January 2002: Rivals Mead Corp. and Westvaco Corp. merge into MeadWestvaco. Dayton loses a Fortune 500 headquarters as the combined company's base moves to Stamford, Conn.
