New York investment firm reportedly considering Charlotte for major expansion

The New York investment firm AllianceBernstein is getting closer to saying where it will open a major new office, and Charlotte is reportedly in the running.

Charlotte is among the cities AllianceBernstein is considering because its parent company, the insurer AXA, has been growing its footprint here, the Wall Street Journal first reported last October. Last August, for instance, the company announced plans to spend $18 million to hire 550 new workers in Charlotte over the next five years.

AllianceBernstein, which doesn't currently have a Charlotte office, also has Nashville on its shortlist, the Nashville Business Journal reported recently, citing sources familiar with the expansion. While the number of new jobs isn't clear, the firm could fit over 1,000 employees in the roughly 200,000 square feet of office space it is said to be pursuing, the NBJ said.

The company has said it is moving workers out of its New York office as part of a cost-savings initiative.

In the company's first quarter earnings call Thursday, Chief Financial Officer John Weisenseel said the company is "sizing everything up," and that the hope is to provide an update at its second-quarter earnings call in July.

Weisenseel said the company has "made some very good progress" regarding the new office site. "We will be able to make an announcement soon with regards to that," he added.

"As we talked about before, this (expansion) will take place over a several-year period."

An AllianceBernstein spokesman said the company "cannot comment beyond what was said today." Officials from the city of Charlotte and the Charlotte Regional Partnership also declined to comment.

AXA currently employs 575 at its Charlotte operations center in jobs ranging from customer service to underwriting.

This story was originally published April 26, 2018 at 5:14 PM with the headline "New York investment firm reportedly considering Charlotte for major expansion."