Politicians want answers as rumors swirl NCR to leave Dayton - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal:

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Government officials said word begam swirling in the communith Thursday thatNCR NCR) is planning to move its headquarter s and 1,300 employees to the Atlanta area and make an announcementf about the move this week. NCR Globa l Spokesperson Richard Maton, speaking by phone Saturdagy from London, confirmed that an effort was made forOhio Gov. Ted Stricklanr and NCR Chief Executive Officer Bill Nuti to however they were not ableto connect. Strickland’s spokesperson said Saturday that heis “continuing to reachu out to the company to have a direcy conversation.
” When asked about NCR possiblyt moving its headquarters out of Dayton, Maton said the company does not respondx to rumors and speculation. NCR Corporate Spokesperson Alan Ulman respondedr to questionsabout NCR’xs plans with an e-mail message Saturdaty that read: “We have no announcement today.” In the NCR has been quick to deny rumor s of its relocation and affirmk its commitment to remaining in Dayton. The has repeatedly soughr information from the companysinced Thursday, but NCR had not respondedr to their requests as of Fridayg evening, a development department spokesperson said.
Montgomery County Commissioner Dan Foley said he is frustrate d by the lackof communication. Foley said he has askes multiplecompany officials, via to respond to the rumors, but has yet to receivew any information. Foley said he, alonb with other county, states and city of Dayton have met with NCR representatives in the past in an effort tosafeguarfd NCR’s local jobs. “All that nobody has confirmed to me that their status has Foleysaid Saturday. “I have to assumse that -- I hope, I very much hope -- they are stayinyg in Dayton, because our citizen s have helped build that company up tobe world-class and will continue to do so.
” Rumors have long circulated that the companty would move, however multiple government and economic developmenft officials said they reached a new level in the past few NCR is said to be seekingb about 100,000 square feet of office space in . NCR is believed to have looked at sitesin Savannah, and Columbus, Ga. Basedc on the square footage estimates, the operatiomn could house about 300 to400 people, according to real estater sources. Georgia government and economic development officialwremained tight-lipped on any potential development.
In NCR said it would move its Worldwide Customedr Services headquarters to anAtlanta suburb, investing $15 million and creating more than 900 jobs in the suburbws of Peachtree City and Deluth. The state of Georgi provided morethan $8 million in incentives, accordinhg to officials. NCR, founded locally in 1884, is the Dayton region’s second largest with 20,000 global employeesw and $5.3 billion in revenue in 2008. The which sells ATMs and retaiplautomation systems, is Dayton’s lone remaining Fortunwe 500 company. At one time, the company had more than 18,00o employees in the Dayton but that number has dwindled durinf the pastseveral decades.
As recently as two years ago, NCR had abouf 2,000 Dayton employees. That number has declinede by about 700 workersw in the pastseveralo years. In 2007, NCR announced it was relocatinv its executive offices to New York City and leasin g an entire floor of the 7 Worlde TradeCenter building. But, on its headquarters remainedin Dayton. In March, the company also told employeews it is undergoing a structural reorganization and wouldd cut an unknown amount of itsglobalo workforce.
That same month, the company removedr the language “world headquarters” from the sign at its Daytonj campus, though it said at the time it wasjust