Reuters wants to extend subsidy style=”color

In addition to getting a request from Deloitte for a $20 million subsidy package today, the city’s Industrial Development Agency is slated to present a reworked subsidy package for Reuters, which was given up to $26 million in incentives from the Giuliani administration, the Observer reported. Reuters received the $26 million incentive package — intended to promote job growth — in 1998, but according to the city about $20 million remains unused. In 2008, Reuters merged with Thomson and now, with a larger workforce and more office buildings, Thomson Reuters wants to extend the subsidy to all its buildings, at least in part to help get a break on renovation costs, according to the Observer.

The city and Reuters reworked the proposed deal, with the city adding new restrictions tied to job growth to access some of the subsidy. The city also proposed to extend the length of the deal by another four years. Opponents, such as Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, criticized the city for an alleged lack of transparency and mistreatment of workers, and called for the Bloomberg administration to delay the approvals. Bill O’Meara, president of the Newspaper Guild of New York, also voiced opposition to the deal, saying that the city should not be giving taxpayers’ money to a foreign-owned company. Julie Wood, a spokesperson for the city’s Economic Development Corporation, countered their claims by highlighting the growth incentives in the reworked deal. [NYO]

Sign Up for the undefined Newsletter