FORT MILL -- CitiFinancial is fast
becoming one of York County's top employers with 800 workers at its new
operations center in Kingsley Park.
And the company, which opened off S.C. 160 in mid-November, plans to
double its Fort Mill work force to 1,600 in the next three years.
More than 100 local and state officials, including Gov. Mark Sanford,
as well as business leaders celebrated the grand opening of
CitiFinancial's 165,000-square-foot operations center Monday.
"We will continue to make this site part of our future growth plans,"
said Mary McDowell, president and chief executive officer of
CitiFinancial Auto. "If you know anyone, we're hiring."
The company, which invested $22 million, expects to have 1,200
workers by the end of the year at the Fort Mill facility. Based on 2005
figures, that would make them York County's fourth largest employer,
behind the county school system, Piedmont Medical Center and Wells Fargo
Home Mortgage.
With 1,600 employees, they would be No. 2. Even at 800 workers,
CitiFinancial is among the top 10 employers.
"It's a compliment to South Carolina's work force," Sanford said.
"The company chose to locate here versus some other place in the Union."
The building brings together a handful of Citigroup businesses,
including the mortgage and auto services. CitiFinancial, which is
headquartered in Baltimore, is a business unit of New York-based
Citigroup.
Most of the jobs in Fort Mill are customer service and collection
positions. The majority of employees were hired after a job fair in
November.
Lynn Darone, the site president, told guests at the grand opening she
was shocked that more than 800 job seekers showed up.
"It was like a concert," she said. "We had people waiting for two
hours outside the building before the doors opened."
But it wasn't like that at first, when people driving along
Interstate 77 saw the building and thought it was a new high school.
"But one day, late in the fall, the Citi sign was raised high in the
sky and illuminated," Darone said. "At that point, folks said, 'Ah, Citi
is coming.' We saw the enthusiasm."
Sanford toured the call center Monday and talked to a recent hire.
Teresa Alston, an auto account manager, gave the governor a lesson in
collections.
"It's a challenge," Alston told Sanford. "It's a challenge to find
your customers who are having financial difficulties. We try to help
them."
Julie Graham • 329-4071
jgraham@heraldonline.com
1. York County school system (all four districts): 4,825
2. Piedmont Medical Center, Rock Hill: 1,550
3. Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Fort Mill: 1,500
4. Bowater Coated and Specialty Papers Division, Catawba:
1,150
5. Winthrop University, Rock Hill: 1,096
6. Catawba Nuclear Station, York: 1,071
7. York County government, York: 860
8. Ross Distribution, Fort Mill: 852
9. CitiFinancial, Fort Mill: 800
9. Stacy's, York: 800
10. U.S. Foodservice, Fort Mill: 780
Source: York County Economic Development Board; figures include
part-time and temporary workers.
