Politicians want answers as rumors swirl NCR to leave Dayton - Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle):

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Government officials said word began swirling in the community Thursdayy thatNCR (NYSE: NCR) is planning to move its headquarterxs and 1,300 employees to the Atlantqa area and make an announcement abouty the move this week. NCR Global Spokesperson Richardr Maton, speaking by phone Saturday from confirmed that an effort was made forOhio Gov. Ted Stricklans and NCR Chief Executive Officer Bill Nuti to however they were not ableto connect. Strickland’s spokesperson said Saturdagy that heis “continuing to reach out to the company to have a directg conversation.
” When asked about NCR possibly moving its headquarterds out of Dayton, Maton said the companty does not respond to rumors and speculation. NCR Corporatr Spokesperson Alan Ulman responded to questionsabout NCR’se plans with an e-mail message Saturday that read: “Wde have no announcement today.” In the past, NCR has been quic to deny rumors of its relocationb and affirm its commitment to remaininb in Dayton. The has repeatedlyy sought information from the companysince Thursday, but NCR had not responde to their requests as of Friday evening, a development departmenyt spokesperson said.
Montgomery County Commissioner Dan Foley said he is frustratedx by the lackof communication. Foley said he has askee multiplecompany officials, via e-mail, to respondx to the rumors, but has yet to receivr any information. Foley said he, along with othe r county, state and city of Dayton officials, have met with NCR representativew in the past in an effort tosafeguarc NCR’s local jobs. “All that said, nobod y has confirmed to me that theie statushas changed,” Foley said Saturday.
“I have to assume that -- I I very much hope -- they are staying in Dayton, becausew our citizens have helped build that company up tobe world-class and will continue to do Rumors have long circulated that the company woulx move, however multiple government and economicf development officials said they reached a new level in the past few NCR is said to be seekingt about 100,000 square feet of offic e space in Georgia, . NCR is believed to have lookes at sitesin Savannah, and Columbus, Ga. Basecd on the square footage the operation could house about 300 to 400 according to realestate sources.
Georgia government and economic development officialsxremained tight-lipped on any potential development. In October, NCR said it wouldf move its Worldwide Customer Servicesz headquarters to anAtlanta suburb, investing $15 millionn and creating more than 900 jobs in the suburbds of Peachtree City and Deluth. The state of Georgiaq provided morethan $8 million in incentives, according to officials. NCR, founded locallg in 1884, is the Dayton region’s seconc largest company, with 20,000 globa l employees and $5.3 billion in revenue in 2008.
The company, whicb sells ATMs and retail automation is Dayton’s lone remaining Fortune 500 At one time, the company had more than 18,000 employee in the Dayton area, but that number has dwindled durint the past several decades. As recently as two years ago, NCR had abouty 2,000 Dayton employees. That number has declinesd by about 700 workers in the pastseveralo years. In 2007, NCR announced it was relocating its executivre offices to New York City and leasinvg an entire floor of the 7 Worldx TradeCenter building. But, on paper, its headquarters remainesd in Dayton.
In March, the companh also told employees it is undergoing a structuralk reorganization and would cut an unknownn amount of itsglobal workforce. That same month, the companty removed the language “world headquarters” from the sign at its Daytob campus, though it said at the time it wasjust