HSBC is retrenching in the U.S. and officials in Buffalo, where the bank has a significant presence, are worried about what that could mean for local jobs. Jonathan D. Epstein reports at the Buffalo News that many New York branches of the bank might not mesh with a new strategy to drop credit card business and nearly 500 branches:
But after eight grueling hours of slide shows and speeches by 17 top executives, covering four business lines and six continents, there were no clear answers about how the changes might impact Buffalo. "We haven't said we're closing branches down. We're reviewing branches," said HSBC Group CEO Stuart Gulliver. "We haven't set out today the number of branches we will have or where they will be located." Spokesman Robert A. Sherman said the branch review is "newly under way." He said the bank will communicate "key updates" to employees "and other stakeholders," but "for our customers, it is business as usual."
“People First”
The Cuomo administration's "People First" tour continues, with Empire State Development president Ken Adams marching across the state. Tuesday he was in Albany, and yesterday he was in Rochester. Jill Terreri at the Democrat and Chronicle reports that Adams honed in on the governor's three top priorities - a property tax cap, gay marriage, and ethics reform:
The issues are unrelated other than that Cuomo wants to get these proposals passed. But Adams, former CEO of the Business Council of New York State, made an economic argument for each. On gay marriage, Adams told the crowd that businesses would be able to attract top talent if the state gave the rights of marriage to all couples.
Port of Albany
Demo at the Port of Albany begins in June, to make way for a 50,000-square-foot warehouse for Cargill, reports Eric Anderson at the Times Union.
Optics
The optics industry that has traditionally thrived in Rochester is getting a run for its money from China, reports Matt Daneman at the Democrat and Chronicle. That's the word on the street at Optifab 2011, an optics trade show being hosted in Rochester this week:
Regions like Rochester and Arizona still have capabilities that allow them to keep their high-end, specialized optics manufacturing industries, said Michael Toro, senior director of business development at specialty glass and materials maker Schott North America, headquartered in Westchester County. But too few Americans are studying optics or other science fields, Toro said. With 3,000 employees in the U.S., "We are basically in continuous hiring mode" with a chronic shortage of skilled people, Toro said. "Our growth rate is really going to be limited by the ability to find talented people," said Chris Koliopoulos, CEO of Connecticut-based optical component company Zygo Corp.
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