Washington Mutual picks San Antonio

[eastsider]

Washington Mutual announced this week that it has selected SA to open its first regional operations center. In what is being called the largest job creation announcement in the country this year, they plan to create 4,200 jobs over the next seven years. Washington Mutual has purchased the three-building MCI campus in north SA that could house the first 2,250 employees. New buildings could be built on the campus to expand to a possible 1 million sf of office space. SA beat out the other finalist, Irving TX, to land the operations center. The city and county gave tax breaks and grants totaling approx. $3.6 million and the state of Texas approved another $15 million.

News articles:

San Antonio Express-News http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/stori...l.1f15f2e5.html

San Antonio Business Journal http://sanantonio.bizjournals.com/sananton...27/daily19.html

[eastsider]

Washington Mutual announced that they will begin hiring in October to fill its operations center.

Spokeswoman Missy Cousino said several hundred people will be hired by the end of the year. Next year about 200 workers a month will be added, she said, with the goal of building a staff of 2,000 full-time workers by the end of 2006.

The first unit hired will be for a call center. Part of the incentives package agreed to by WM calls for the creation of 3,000 jobs within seven years.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/stori...s.70ee6151.html

[eastsider]

Looks like the financial services industry in SA might be growing even more. Bank of America is scouting locations in SA for a new financial operations center that could bring in upto 2,500 new jobs. BoA is looking to create a center for back-office operations that can handle incoming and outgoing calls to customers. BoA has already applied for the Texas Enterprise Fund for incentives to located there.

In addition to Bank of America, World Savings Bank is still considering San Antonio for an expansion that would add up to 2,000 new jobs. World Savings, which moved operations here in 1993, already has 3,000 employees at its 112-acre campus on Wiseman Boulevard near Loop 1604.

The World Savings expansion is "imminent," Hardberger said.

World Savings could not be reached for comment Friday. A subsidiary of Golden West Financial Corp., World Savings is a Fortune 500 financial services provider with more than $115 billion in assets.

Other financial service companies that already have a presence in SA include:

Citigroup - 4,000 employees

JPMorgan Chase - 2,400 employees

Capital Group - 910 employees

LTD Financial Services - 200 employees

San Antonio Express-News: Bank of America scouts S.A. for operations center

[eastsider]

Washington Mutuals new regional operations center has started training for its first group of employees. They will have 2,000 employees working at the operations center by the end of 2006 and up to 4,200 employees within seven years.

San Antonio Business Journal: Washington Mutual starts ramping up local employment