NYS aid will help keep Broadridge Financial Solutions on Long Island, preserve thousands of jobs

Broadridge Financial Solutions Inc., one of Long Island’s largest employers, is investing nearly $80 million in its local operations and retaining 2,200 jobs statewide rather than moving work out of state.

Gov. Kathy Hochul, in announcing Broadridge's recommitment to stay in the metropolitan area on Tuesday, said the state would provide the company with up to $40 million in grants and tax credits.

Broadridge had considered closing one of four facilities in Edgewood, a neighborhood in Islip Town, and its Lake Success headquarters to save up to $270 million over 10 years. The plan would have reduced the company’s workforce in New York State to about 750 employees, according to an application for tax incentives from Suffolk County last year.

Broadridge had considered transferring work and jobs to California, Connecticut, Florida, Tennessee and Texas, where it also has facilities, the application states.

Tuesday's announcement by Hochul and Broadridge CEO Tim Gokey ends months of uncertainty for employees and the communities where the company operates. It also follows the departure of other public companies, such as Arrow Electronics Inc. and Comtech Telecommunications Corp., to other states.

Gokey said the incentives from Empire State Development, the state’s primary economic development agency, are “ensuring that our New York associates can continue to play a key role in driving innovation across financial services.”

Broadridge functions as Wall Street’s back office by delivering more than 7 billion documents to shareholders each year and processing trillions of dollars in stock trades each day. Besides its local operations, the fast-growing company has offices in Manhattan, Europe, Asia and Australia.

Securities filings show Broadridge reported a profit of $839.5 million for the year ended June 30 on revenue of $6.9 billion.

Hochul said Tuesday that Broadridge will establish a $3 million “innovation partnership” with Stony Brook University focused on artificial intelligence research and workforce development.

"We competed for these jobs, we secured them and we’re anchoring them here for the long term,” the governor said. “Each one of these jobs will support families, local businesses and communities — this is exactly how we grow our economy."

The state assistance consists of grants totaling $38.5 million and up to $1.5 million in state tax credits. In return, the company will spend $78 million on building renovations and equipment purchases over 10 years, according to state officials.

IDAs also providing assistance

Tuesday's announcement coincided with two unanimous votes by the Islip Town Industrial Development Agency to provide additional property tax breaks for two of Broadridge's four facilities in Edgewood.

Details of the aid package still need be worked out, but IDA director John G. Walser told Newsday they would be "consistent" with what the Suffolk County IDA already awarded to the company's other Edgewood sites.

In September, the Suffolk IDA agreed to provide $17 million in tax savings over 12 years. In return, Broadridge pledged to spend tens of millions of dollars on improvements, plus retain the 1,531 employees that work in the two buildings. The jobs pay, on average, $111,353 per year, according to the application for Suffolk IDA assistance.

“This company could absolutely operate anywhere else in the country, but we want them to stay in Suffolk County because of the jobs, the spending and the overall positive impact on the economy,” Kelly Murphy, the IDA's chief executive and executive director told Newsday last year.

Broadridge's Suffolk locations receive 2,400 kilowatts of low-cost electricity from the state Power Authority in return for retaining 1,713 jobs, according to state records. On Tuesday, state officials said the authority's board of trustees will consider an application to extend the power allocations at a future meeting.

Kevin Law, of St. James, chairman of Empire State Development, said Broadridge's decision to stay here, where it was founded nearly 40 years ago, "helps ensure Long Island remains an important hub for the financial services industry." 

'It's like an MMA fight'

Broadridge was started by Richard J. Daly in 1987 in the back bedroom of an East Northport house. He now serves on the board of directors as executive chairman.

Economic development experts said competition among states to attract and retain public companies, such as Broadridge, is fierce.

"It's like an MMA fight," said Didi Caldwell, president of the South Carolina-based consulting firm Global Location Strategies, referring to mixed martial arts contests. "This is a dog eat dog world and [states] will pull out all the stops for a blue chip company like this one."

She and others said the multimillion-dollar incentive packages often capture headlines but their monetary value is soon eclipsed by the salaries paid to employees, new contracts for suppliers and the prestige brought to the community.

"The company also has to perform," Caldwell said. "They're only going to get the incentives if they live up to their commitment."

By James T. Madore

james.madore@newsday.comJamesTMadore

James T. Madore writes about Long Island business news including the economy, development, and the relationship between government and business. He previously served as Albany bureau chief.