The Loch Lomond Mall will have a new tenant soon, a contact centre for Sears Canada.
Premier Brian Gallant joined by Stephen Lund of Opportunities NB and Mayor Don Darling to announce up to 350 jobs for a Saint John contact centre.
The Premier makes the official announcement pic.twitter.com/ivboHSi1cb
— CHSJ News (@chsjnews) January 20, 2017
ONB will provide $4.3 million in payroll rebates and loans.
Gallant says a huge portion of the incentives from ONB are only given ifthe business actually creates the jobs and makes the incentives they said they would.
Hiring begins next month and the contact centre should be accepting calls in Saint John by April.
CEO Stephen Lund says it’s a very competitive world so companies choose a certain location based on 3 criteria: skill, scale and cost.
He says all employers ask: Can I get good people?, Can I get enough of them? and Can I do this in a reasonable cost of business way?
ONB CEO Stephen Lund talks about how competitive the world is today. pic.twitter.com/M78BzfcOl3
— CHSJ News (@chsjnews) January 20, 2017
Lund was asked if working with Sears is a financial gamble on the part of the province and he says no, he wouldn’t say it’s a gamble, that’s not a good choice of words.
He says for every deal they do they take a good look at from a number of ways including if they can generate a positive return on investment.
He says they have a number of approval processes within the organization including their board of directors.
A hiring fair begins next month and the contact centre should be accepting calls in Saint John by April.
A hiring fair for these jobs begin Feb 1st and 2nd at the Loch Lomond Mall.
— CHSJ News (@chsjnews) January 20, 2017
