Letter to Judy Seil, Executive Director of COMIDA

Letter

Today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer called on the County of Monroe Industrial Development Agency (COMIDA) to approve an incentive package that would help New York land up to 400 new jobs and millions of dollars in private investment accompanying a new Xerox call center at its Webster Campus. Xerox, a New York company, has offices across the country and the world, and has not yet determined where they plan to build the new call center. The company is considering renovating an existing building on its Webster campus, but is seeking local incentives to help finance the renovation of the facility. Today, Schumer sent a personal letter to Judy Seil, the Executive Director of COMIDA, urging the group to extend a financial package that will help Xerox with the expected $4.3 million renovation project so that hundreds of jobs come to New York, and are not lost to another state.

"Xerox has been synonymous with Rochester, NY since its founding, and we have a chance to cement that legacy even further," said Schumer. "It's not every day we have a chance to bring hundreds of good-paying jobs to Monroe County, so we need to seize the moment. I'm strongly urging the Monroe County IDA to step up to the plate and make this happen, and pledge to do anything and everything I can to help a great New York company grow jobs in the Empire State."

Schumer's letter comes a day before COMIDA is set to hold a public hearing on the project and the possibility of an incentives package in Webster. Xerox has told Schumer's office that the project would create hundreds of jobs to start with, and could create additional jobs in years to come as the call center business expands. In his letter, Schumer noted that Monroe County is ideally suited to host the new call center, thanks to the region's highly skilled and educated workforce, and synergies with Xerox's existing employees and resources in the region.

"New York has been great to Xerox, and should be first in line when it comes to new company jobs," continued Schumer. "This growing part of their business should come back to the state where it all began."

Schumer's letter to the Executive Director of COMIDA appears below:

Judy Seil

Executive Director

County of Monroe Industrial Development Agency (COMIDA)

CityPlace, Suite 8100

50 West Main Street

Rochester, NY 14614

Dear Ms. Seil,

I am writing to convey my support of Xerox Corporation's plan to potentially create hundreds of news jobs and millions in new investment at their Webster, NY campus, and to urge your agency to extend your support to capitalize on this economic development opportunity.

Adding its new call center in Monroe County would provide Xerox with many advantages including access to the region's highly skilled and educated workforce and synergies with its existing local operations. However, Xerox is an international company with operations across the United States. Despite the strong business case for building this center in Monroe County, undoubtedly other states and regions will compete for this expansion opportunity.

Therefore it is critical to support this project with the appropriate incentives to ensure that Xerox establishes its new call center here in Monroe County. In return, this project offers tremendous economic advantages for the region. This new center will reportedly mean as many as 400 or more new jobs for local workers and $4.3 million in new development to Xerox's Webster campus. Moreover, as Xerox grows its business services operations, there may likely be future opportunities to expand this center even further.

Xerox grew to become one of the world's most successful companies because it began in Rochester and was fueled by the innovation and hard work of the Rochester region's workforce. It is only fitting that as Xerox grows its business process service work that the Rochester region's workforce once again lead the way. Again, I am pleased to offer my full support for this opportunity as you conduct your public hearing and contemplate incentive support for this development and stand ready to partner with you and other local partners to convince Xerox that it should establish its new facility in Monroe County.

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