Huntington promises to add jobs in Akron
Huntington Bancshares is planning to increase its employment in Akron, the home of the former FirstMerit bank that it bought last year.
Huntington promises there will be 1,200 jobs in Akron by year end — about the same number that there were before Huntington announced plans in January 2016 to buy the bank for $3.4 billion.
It also said it will make Akron its regional headquarters.
“It speaks to our investment in jobs and talent in all of our markets, Akron in particular,” Huntington spokesman Brent Wilder said Monday.
Often in these kinds of acquisitions, the hometown of the company being acquired suffers job losses.
But from the moment Huntington announced that it was buying FirstMerit, Huntington said it was committed to keeping significant operations in
the region.
Shortly after the merger closed a year ago, the bank cut 179 jobs in Akron. Since then, the bank has been adding jobs, although the mix has changed. Total employment is now above 1,100. Last week, the city of Akron and Huntington announced a preliminary deal to provide local tax incentives to the bank for maintaining a minimum of 1,200 workers through 2022. Huntington says it expects to top that number.
Overall, the bank employed 16,300 as of the end of March. That’s more than the combined banks had at the time of the merger announcement.
“From day one, the city of Akron provided a warm welcome to Huntington. We couldn’t succeed here without the community’s trust and support, and we’re proud to meet our commitment to grow jobs in Akron,” said Steve Steinour, the bank’s president, chairman and CEO, in a statement.
JobsOhio, the state’s economic-development organization, has agreed to provide a $225,000 grant to Huntington to provide support for hiring and training new employees.
“Huntington had many options on where to place a new regional headquarters, and Huntington chose Akron,” said Valentina Isakina, JobsOhio’s managing director for financial services, in a statement. “This commitment demonstrates the growing recognition of the talent quality in northeast Ohio.”
Huntington has three buildings in downtown Akron. As part of the deal, the bank said it is investing more than $5 million in improvements to its three buildings downtown. The buildings house back-office and information-technology operations. Huntington also plans a long-term expansion of a call center.
In support of Huntington’s investment in buildings, the city is making improvement to an underground parking garage, including lighting and signs, and surface road improvements.
“By growing jobs here, Huntington will support our citywide goals of increasing our population and ensuring robust employment opportunities for our residents,” Akron Mayor Daniel Horrigan said.
“By growing jobs here, Huntington will support our citywide goals of increasing our population and ensuring robust employment opportunities for our residents.”
— Akron Mayor Daniel Horrigan