By: Deborah Johnson Wood
Wyoming, MI is high on Priceline.com’s list of possible cities in which to locate an international call center that could result in 424 company jobs and 186 indirect jobs for the region.
“We have received the incentive package from the State of Michigan, which is very exciting,” says Brian Ek, Priceline.com spokesperson. “We understand the City of Wyoming is considering its own incentive package and there’s the matter of the lease to negotiate. The first of the hurdles has been crossed and we’re waiting for everything to fall into place.”
Last week, the Michigan Economic Growth Authority, working in collaboration with the City of Wyoming and The Right Place, Inc., approved a state tax credit of some $1.3 million. The MEDC offered up to $200,000 for job training, and the City of Wyoming proposes a seven-year tax abatement of $1.1 million.
Ek would not say if other locations are also under consideration or divulge the location of the Wyoming property under consideration. But he did say that the company looked at several places and “Michigan is one of the areas that very aggressively courted the business.”
The call center jobs would include multi-lingual customer service positions to support the 17 language groups Priceline.com serves, other customer care positions and some editorial jobs. The jobs will pay $9 to $10 per hour to start.
“The high-tech jobs that companies like Priceline.com can bring to the area are vital to the success of our local economy,” says Birgit Klohs of The Right Place, the Grand Rapids-based economic development corporation assisting Priceline.com with the site search, the MEGA approval process and the tax incentives.
Brian Ek expects the company to make its final decision sometime in July.
Source: Brian Ek, Priceline.com, Inc.; The Right Place, Inc.
Deborah Johnson Wood is the development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected].
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