Schwab may expand in Denver

By John Rebchook, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Charles Schwab is looking to expand its work force in the Denver area, but a spokeswoman for the San Francisco-based company says it is too early to say how many jobs it ultimately could create here.

Currently, 1,300 Schwab employees work in the Denver area, the company's third-largest employment center after San Franciso and Phoenix.

"Our corporate headquarters will remain in San Francisco, but we've made the decision to look to Denver and Phoenix for future employment growth," Schwab spokeswoman Sarah Bulgatz said Tuesday.

Job growth is expected to be across the board in many different positions, she said.

If Schwab decides to expand its presence in the Denver area by 500 jobs, as some believe, it apparently would be for a high-level call center.

The facility could create another 600 indirect jobs.

Together, the 1,100 direct and indirect jobs could have almost a $50 million economic impact, based on industry estimates.

Schwab would require about 100,000 square feet of new office space along the southeast office corridor to accommodate the new jobs.

When financial service companies are looking at the Denver area, it is almost always for a call center, said Tom Clark, executive vice president of the Metro Denver Economic Corp.

"Call centers have a bad name, but the ones that handle in- bound calls pay pretty well," he said.

The typical salary for the direct jobs would be about $47,000 per year.

The spinoff positions would have salaries of about $42,000, Clark said.

Together, that equates to an annual impact of $46.2 million in salaries.

Schwab leases 270,000 square feet in two buildings at Panorama Corporate Center, near Interstate 25 and Dry Creek Road.

Specific growth plans in the Denver area are "speculative," Bulgatz said.

"We like the city a lot," Bulgatz said.

"We certainly have not announced any movement of jobs, or the acquisition of additional office space at this point," Bulgatz said.

"Our plans aren't totally baked yet," she said.