WHERE ARE THE JOBS?
14 months after Govt promise of 500 jobs, LiveTiles site sits empty
THE Geelong office of software company LiveTiles remains empty more than 14 months after it was announced by Premier Daniel Andrews that it would bring 500 jobs to the region.
The company took the keys to the site in the middle of last year but only empty chairs and cardboard boxes were there yesterday.
THE Geelong office of international software company LiveTiles remains empty more than 14 months after Premier Daniel Andrews announced it would bring 500 jobs to the region.
A single row of plastic chairs line a wall of the dusty office touted as LiveTiles’ future global innovation centre and Asia-Pacific headquarters, destined to turbocharge Geelong’s tech sector.
LiveTiles, which has received $1.5 million from the State Government, says it has three Geelong-based employees and a further six staff oper- ating out of its Melbourne office.
However, the ASX-listed company’s office at North Geelong’s Federal Mills Park business precinct, where it has secured a lease to accommodate 500 employees, is deserted, despite the company taking possession of the keys in the middle of last year.
The lack of activity comes despite a launch-style event dubbed “LiveTiles X”, attended by Geelong Labor MPs and the then Small Business Minister Philip Dalidakis, held in the empty building in August.
LiveTiles has given the Geelong Advertiser multiple indications over the past 14 months that it was set to start recruiting in Geelong.
However, yesterday it blamed the delay on the Federal Government for not processing an application for a research and development tax incentive.
“Unfortunately, our investment in growing our team in Geelong (and, more broadly, Australia) has been affected by a significant delay in the AusIndustry processing of our R&D application,” chief marketing officer Nick Rameka said.
“But we are not alone there. Many Australian technology companies are experiencing the same setbacks.”
Founded by Melbourne pair Karl Redenbach and Peter Nguyen-Brown, LiveTiles’ products empower users to create their own “intelligent workplaces”.
In April, the company said staff in Geelong would provide digital marketing, sales, technical and operational support to help drive its expansion in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Andrews Government has claimed an active role in landing the deal to bring the company to Geelong, saying due to that support, LiveTiles will partner with local universities, TAFEs and secondary schools to create opportunities for tech graduates.
The company has highlighted its support for seven Grade 5 and 6 pupils from Newcomb’s Christ the King Primary School to go to Hungary for the First Lego League Open Invitational Central Europe competition.
A Victorian Government spokesperson said the government was supporting LiveTiles in the establishment of its headquarters in Geelong, based on the achievement of a series of milestones.
“The implementation of the project has been slower than expected for a range of business reasons,” the spokesperson said.
Details of the State Government assistance have not been disclosed but the support is staged and conditional on the achievement of project milestones. While it has received $1.5 million to date, based on meeting milestones around collaboration with local education providers, future payments are conditional on the job creation milestones.
LiveTiles, which also has offices in Sydney, Hobart and Brisbane, has confirmed that the “vast majority’’ of $2.1 million in government funding it declared to the Australian Stock Exchange a year ago related to a Federal Government research and development claim for a prior period.
The company said it remained committed to developing its headquarters in Geelong.