UPDATED: One of Raimondo’s Top Recruited Corporations Pulls Out of RI — 200 Jobs Impacted
Wednesday, January 16, 2019
It was billed as one of the big economic development wins by Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo.
Agoda, a division of Booking Holdings that also has Priceline, KAYAK and OpenTable, was coming to Rhode Island and was bringing with it hundreds of jobs.
In February 2017, Raimondo pushed through $7.4 million in subsidies for Agoda. The company was moving and expanding operations previously located in Florida,
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe deal was going to be worth millions to the Rhode Island economy — nearly $20 million. The company describes itself as "Agoda, one of the world’s fastest growing online travel agents (OTAs)."
“Based on a third-party analysis, direct and indirect economic and fiscal benefits of the proposed project include increased annual state GDP in 2018 of $19.5 million, related to 32 construction and 311 ongoing direct and indirect jobs created, and increased personal income, as well as sales and business corporation tax revenues during the construction phase and ongoing operations over the 12 years of the agreement, with a combined estimated value of approximately $7.4 million,” said Commerce RI.
According to sources at Agoda in Providence, employees were recently notified that the office will be closing in mid-March.
The buildout to the Agoda office was to cost $5.1 million. "..the company [Agoda] estimates that it will spend approximately $5.1 million in 2017 on leasehold improvements, fixtures and furnishings, and purchase and installation of IT equipment,” wrote Commerce RI in its documents.
Booking and Agoda press offices have both refused to respond to repeated requests for comment.
Impact to RI
Booking’s performance has been mixed. The company recorded a poor second quarter in 2018, but bounced back in the third quarter.
“We are aware that Agoda has filed a WARN notice with the State’s Department of Labor and Training. We are in communication with the company and understand that their Rhode Island decision is in the context of broader corporate decision making,” said Matt Sheaff in response to questions from GoLocal.
“Agoda has not received any tax credits from the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation. Our Commerce incentive programs have some of the strongest safeguards in the country and were designed so that tax credits are not awarded if a company does not perform.”
Agoda's relocation to Rhode Island was cited in the Boston Globe’s endorsement of Raimondo’s reelection.
According to one Commerce official, the actual number to be laid off this month is less than 70, but that official could not confirm how close Agoda came in the past two years to its claimed 200 promised jobs.
This story was first updated 1/15/19 3:12 PM and was updated at 1/16/19 3:37 AM
