Estée Lauder moving dozens of IT jobs from Melville to Queens

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. is reducing its presence in Melville, moving dozens of information technology jobs to a new office in Long Island City, Queens, according to an employee announcement Wednesday that was obtained by Newsday.

The number of affected employees is “less than 10 percent” of Manhattan-based Estée Lauder’s Melville workforce, a company spokeswoman said. It has about 1,700 workers spread across multiple buildings near the Long Island Expressway, according to the Hoover’s business research database.

The cosmetics giant said it has no plans to close its local operation, which includes research and development, manufacturing and finance. The local factory accounts for about 20 percent of the company’s production of fragrances and skin care products.

Michael Smith, chief information officer, said in Wednesday’s memo to employees: “Melville . . . continues to be an important business hub for our company and our local operations help drive our global growth. We are continuing to make important investments to further innovate our Melville campus, including IT workspaces.”

He said Estée Lauder’s “new technology hub” will be in rented space at 1 Queens Plaza North and will open in July.

Many IT employees “based in the New York area will transition to our new space in Long Island City,” Smith said in the memo.

“Long Island City is a growing hub for startups, tech and digital companies, and our team will greatly benefit from being at the center of this fast-paced and vibrant environment,” he said.

The move comes as leases for three Estée Lauder offices on Maxess Road and in Greenway Plaza, both in Melville, are set to expire. The IT department uses this space.

The company said leases at 145 and 155 Greenway Plaza will be renewed.

Estée Lauder “has had a longstanding presence on Long Island for more than 50 years and remains deeply committed to its operations in Melville,” it said in a statement. “We are investing in the revitalization, beautification, ergonomics and environmental health and safety of our buildings.”

In 2012, Estée Lauder announced plans to move a fragrance-filling operation from New Jersey to Melville, affecting 116 workers, according to New Jersey government documents.

A few years earlier, the company’s packaging subsidiary, Whitman Packaging Corp., closed plants in Islandia and Yaphank, eliminating 685 jobs.

Estée Lauder, founded in 1946 by Estée and Joseph Lauder, is a public company with stock traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Its products are sold under the Estée Lauder, Clinique, MAC and Bobbi Brown brand names, among others.

The company reported a profit of $1.2 billion for the year ended June 30 on sales of $11.8 billion.

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.