As part of negotiations this past summer for a consolidated headquarters office in New York City, business-services giant Deloitte L.L.P. told city officials it could expand in Connecticut instead if it did not get the tax incentives it was seeking.
The accounting and consulting company had more than 700 employees in Fairfield County at last report, most of them at a 200,000-square-foot complex in Wilton, and some at a relatively small office in Stamford.
Parent company Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu has some 170,000 workers worldwide, up 40 percent since 2005. According to a recent report in the Financial Times, the company expects to hire 25,000 employees globally over the next five years, including in Asia where it has experienced rapid growth.
In the tristate region, the company has 6,000 employees, 4,200 of them in New York City. During negotiations for more than 600,000 square feet of space at World Financial Center in lower Manhattan, Deloitte said it could hire as many as 2,100 additional employees there in exchange for as much as $21 million in incentives. While details were still being haggled at last report, the company struck the framework of a deal to take a lease at World Financial Center.
As part of a formal filing with New York City officials, Deloitte indicated it has more than 30,000 square feet of space in Connecticut it is not using, and to which presumably it could add employees from New York or as new hires if it does not get the deal it is seeking. The company said it also has unused space in New Jersey, without disclosing how much.
“Should Deloitte L.L.P. opt not to expand in New York, a portion of the new jobs that may otherwise be grown and retained are the subject of consideration for siting outside of New York,” the company wrote in its July filing.
The company did not state whether it approached Connecticut or New Jersey officials to compare incentives.
Deloitte has pledged to spend $90 million creating what it calls the “workplace of the future,” featuring better-designed offices and processes to promote collaboration. At the same time, Deloitte is rolling out a new global strategy it calls “as one” focused on better delivering services across borders while keeping customer accountability local.
“The financial crisis has fundamentally reshaped our economic, regulatory and business landscapes,” said CEO and New Canaan resident Jim Quigley, in a prepared statement. “Change creates opportunities for both Deloitte and our clients, and I believe that this is the right time to launch the ”˜as one”™ strategy.”
In the 2010 fiscal year ending May 31, U.S. revenue rose 3 percent from the preceding 12 months, though that included revenue from the North American public sector practice of BearingPoint, which Deloitte acquired for $350 million. While consulting revenue grew 15 percent worldwide, the company saw declines in its audit, tax and financial advisory practices.
