A Tennessee firm that made waves two years ago when it announced plans to put a software development center in Atlanta and hire up to 250 workers is shutting down its Buckhead operations, the city’s economic development agency said Wednesday.
Nashville-based Asurion, a provider of insurance for mobile phones and electronics and other technology protection products, announced its expansion plans in January 2012. The company’s decision to expand in Atlanta had been seen as a coup for the city because of its expected roster of high-paying tech jobs, projected to average $90,000 per year.
A spokeswoman with Asurion did not immediately return requests for comment Tuesday or Wednesday.
It is unclear how many jobs will be affected by the move.
The company was potentially eligible for more than $2 million in state tax credits over five years, according to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution analysis of the state’s tax credit formulas. Companies receive individual tax credits, however, only for the jobs they actually create during that time.
The city of Atlanta also pledged support with a $500,000 grant, also contingent on creating promised jobs.
Tony Wilbert, a spokesman for Invest Atlanta, the city’s economic development arm, said Asurion is required to repay the $500,000 grant it received from the city as part of the company’s recruitment. The company, he said, has agreed to do so.
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