Syracuse Economic Officials know the area has some advantages for businesses to move here, and boost employment. Now they’re hearing this might be the ‘best place in the nation’ for certain kinds of jobs.
We’ve all heard of jobs being sent off shore…generally to get cheap labor. Companies are now thinking about 're-shoring' some of those jobs, moving them back to the U.S. And Syracuse is rated in one measure the number one location for business services in finance, I-T, call centers, and customer or technical service. CenterstateCEO President Rob Simpson has noticed a trend.
“What you’re seeing over the course of the past five years in particular, is increasing standard of living. In parts of the world that used to be seen as third world countries that are now not only developing but developed economies. So in places like China and India, Brazil and other places where cost of labor is increasing as people’s standard of living is increasing, the overall cost of making an investment offshore as opposed to onshore changes.”
He says additionally overseas there can be communication problems, regulatory, currency and management issues, that just make it easier here. Simpson was surprised but pleased by the number one ranking in a report done by the Hackett Group…which also found a shrinking gap of cost advantages to move jobs overseas. The study also notes state incentives are helping start or grow businesses here.
What makes Syracuse attractive is cheap real estate, a good, educated workforce, and government incentives. Simpson whole heartedly agrees and says expansion of the Sutherland Global Services here, Bank of New York Mellon and Rapid Response Monitoring are examples of local growth in call centers and service locations. He doesn’t however think companies are re-shoring jobs to look good or be more patriotic..
“I think ultimately though, businesses tend to make decisions based on what makes economic sense. What will generate profitability for the company; what will deliver a superior product; what will ensure quality for their customers, and that’s frankly where a place like Syracuse has a tremendous competitive advantage.”
And you can bet Simpson has already forwarded this research to companies in this sector that are right now considering Syracuse for their business services operation.
