Credit Suisse to add 175 jobs with state grant

RTP firm gets break on pay

Credit Suisse appears poised to expand in Research Triangle Park even as it cuts jobs worldwide.

On Thursday, North Carolina leaders amended an incentives agreement with the bank -- at the bank's request -- that will require Credit Suisse to add as many as 175 more jobs in the Triangle than originally planned.

The company in April 2006 said it would add up to 400 jobs in the Wake County portion of RTP in exchange for as much as $12 million in state incentives. Now, Credit Suisse has agreed to bump that number to 575 to get the state grant.

But there is a catch: Credit Suisse lowered the average wage for the jobs.

Previously, it said pay would average $108,140. Under terms approved Thursday, the new target is $71,235.

That reflects, at least in part, a different mix of jobs that Credit Suisse is adding in RTP, according N.C. Department of Commerce officials. The facility handles a number of responsibilities for the bank, including information technology and transaction processing.

A committee that oversees incentives at the Commerce Department agreed to the modifications, because it should mean more jobs for the region in the long term. And even with a lower wage standard, the positions still pay about 75 percent more than the Wake County average.

"We're pleased with the agreement we've reached with the state," said David Walker, a Credit Suisse spokesman. He declined to elaborate on the company's plans for the RTP site, which has 818 employees and 84 contractors.

The changes to the state agreement came the same day Credit Suisse, Switzerland's second-largest bank, said that it will eliminate 5,300 jobs, or 11 percent of its work force, to cut costs as it contends with "challenging market conditions."

That the two announcements occurred on the same day was coincidence. And just because Credit Suisse increased its overall jobs commitment in RTP doesn't mean it won't shed some jobs there in the short term. The company didn't give a geographic breakdown for the reductions.

One local recruiter saw the revised jobs announcement in a broader context.

"As we're going through some of the changes in the financial sector, there is repositioning," said Ken Atkins, executive director of Wake County Economic Development. "I think the Triangle is probably faring a little better than other parts of the country."

Credit Suisse first came to RTP in 2004, deciding to locate there in part to diversify operations and lower its costs. Since then, Fidelity has agreed to expand its campus and create 2,000 local jobs for similar reasons. Fidelity has also announced job cuts in recent weeks.

The factors that brought them to the area have more resonance now, Atkins said. His staff is working with several companies that, in the midst of recession, are considering consolidating operations in the Triangle. They're attracted by lower costs and a skilled work force, he said.

Those features are proving a draw in other pockets of the state, as well. On Thursday, North Carolina officials promised a grant worth as much as $2 million to Sypris Technologies, which agreed to create 203 jobs in Morganton.

The company, which makes truck and trailer axles, is bringing operations there from other locations, including Ohio.

"Some of these companies are looking beyond this recession and saying, 'Where do we want to be when this thing ends,' " Atkins said. "That's what we're seeing."