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MetroGroup to leave Seward; 270 jobs lost

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BY MATT OLBERDING / Lincoln Journal Star

Friday, Feb 01, 2008 - 03:20:14 pm CST

MetroGroup, one of Seward’s largest employers, will be moving its operations out of the town by summer, leaving about 270 people without jobs.

The direct mail company announced Friday that it has sold its MetroGroup Transaction Services business unit to Microdynamics Corporation of Naperville, Ill.

As a result, Transaction Services work that is being done in Seward will be moved to Illinois and other locations.

A look at MetroGroup

MetroGroup Holding LLC Chairman Jim McQuaid said the company’s presence in Seward dates to the mid-1980s, when it was Metromail Corp.

According to Journal Star files, the company was sold to Experian in 1998, which as recently as 2001 employed more than 1,200 people at plants in Lincoln and Seward.

In 2003, a group of senior managers bought Experian’s manufacturing division and the Cole Information Services division and formed MetroGroup.

The company specialized mostly in the direct mail business until the fall of 2006, when it acquired a company called Proficient Data, and delved more into the transaction services business, which involves management of electronic documents such as invoices, checks and billing statements.

MetroGroup Holding Company is owned by Sterling Capital Partners, a private equity firm with offices in Baltimore and Chicago.

MetroGroup also said Friday that it will be moving Seward’s MetroGroup Marketing Services’ business to its plant in Mount Pleasant, Iowa.

As a result of that move, the company also has shifted its marketing services headquarters from Lincoln to Mount Pleasant.

As recently as the fall of 2006, MetroGroup had employed 90 people in Lincoln, but Jim McQuaid, chairman of MetroGroup Holding LLC, said employment had dwindled to just a handful of people, who will continue to work for the company out of their homes doing mainly sales work.

Another MetroGroup division that operates in Lincoln and Omaha, Cole Information Services, is not affected by the announcement, McQuaid said.

In October, MetroGroup had moved jobs to Seward and at the time employed more than 300 people there.

But  McQuaid said the sale of the division announced Friday, combined with reduced business for the marketing services division that operates in Seward, made it logical to look to consolidate the work elsewhere.

He said much of the work done in Seward was for credit cards and banks and that business has fallen off significantly in the past few months.

The MetroGroup closing came as a surprise to local business officials.

Charlie Schumacher, who is president of the Seward Chamber of Commerce, had not heard about the sale until informed by a reporter Friday morning.

He said there had been a local economic development meeting Wednesday and there had been no discussion of anything going on with MetroGroup.

“This is a surprise to me,” Schumacher said.

He said that from time to time there have been rumors about job cuts at the company, which he said is one of Seward’s five largest employers, but they have always turned out to be unfounded.

Lana Zumbrunn, Executive Director of the Seward County Economic Development group, said she had heard rumors that job cuts were coming, but she was not expecting the MetroGroup operations to close.

McQuaid said no one was let go immediately, but all the jobs will be phased out by summer.

He said a few people are being offered transfers to other locations, but the bulk of the employees will lose their jobs.

MetroGroup will offer those employees severance packages based on their job title and years of service, McQuaid said, and the company also plans to hold a job fair and offer career counseling to try to help affected employees find other jobs.

Both Schumacher and Zumbrunn sounded optimistic that Seward will weather the cuts.

Zumbrunn said the building MetroGroup is vacating will give the town a large property to market to potential new employers.

“Though the MetroGroup jobs will be missed, it will offer an opportunity for a future business,” she said.

Schumacher said that while the cuts  will “have a great impact” on Seward, local economic development officials would  work hard to replace the jobs and find others for the affected employees.

“That’s a lot of jobs for us (to lose),” Schumacher said. “But we can absorb this. We’re a pretty vibrant community.”

Reach Matt Olberding at 473-2647 or molberding@journalstar.com.


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Not surprising wrote on February 1, 2008 11:22 am:
" I used to work for Experian,and it doesn't surprise me one bit that not only did MetroGroup sell and move jobs, but they did it underhandedly. That company does not care one iota about its employees. I understand being in business to make money and I understand that layoffs can be a part of cutting costs. But to this with no warning, no indication whatsoever is the way they do business. "

 Strefo wrote on February 1, 2008 11:51 am:
" MetroGroup is moving 1/2 of its operations to Iowa and 1/2 to Illinois. Therefore, it seems clear that there will be a total closing at the Seward plant.

Too bad the company officials couldn't make themselves available for comment or have the courtesy to speak to town officials themselves in advance of the press release. "

 debbie wrote on February 1, 2008 12:06 pm:
" It was never said pubicly but the Lincoln offices closed in Dec. The closing of the Seward plant was coming and most of us knew that. But ever since Metrogroup bought the business from Experian the company has went down hill. The treatment of employees from from a 9 to 0. I've been with the company 20 years and stuck with it through all of their bull and what did it get me!!!!!!!!!!!! "

 Dano wrote on February 1, 2008 12:20 pm:
" Not a surprise that no corporate officials could/would say anything about it. I am sure the chamber of commerce wasn't the only group to find out from a reporter. That is a sad way to business. "

 Not a shocker wrote on February 1, 2008 1:15 pm:
" Oh my husband worked there for like 2 years. And i think 8 months out of the year he was laid off.. So he found a better job. They are a company that does not care about the employees. My husband needed time off due to the passing of his brother, and they told him it was not their problem and he could only have one day off. There is a supervisor there that was AWESOME. He pulled soo many strings so my husband could be off. It sucks that more people are getting laid off and going to lose their jobs. Just like Quebecor in Lincoln. "

 Surprise Surprise Surprise wrote on February 1, 2008 1:20 pm:
" If at any time people think big business cares about what they do or how it affects thier employees, communities you will have a big surprise coming, because the don't. "

 huskerbob wrote on February 1, 2008 1:43 pm:
" This is really sad. I know several people who work for this company. Sounds like a bad deal all the way around. "

 Terry wrote on February 1, 2008 3:25 pm:
" Not surprising. I probably worked with "debbie" back when it was MetroMail. With that bunch of "mismanagers" buying the place, it's a surprise it lasted as long as it did. And an even bigger surprise that they could get ANYONE to work for them if the treatment was as bad as it was when I was there. Chin up, though, folks. There will be tons of high paying jobs in Lincoln at the convention center/hotels/research park. They're going to need lots of highly paid houskeepers, janitors and concession stand workers. "

 Not Unexpected wrote on February 1, 2008 3:49 pm:
" I used to work for Metromail then Experian. I have to agree with Not Surprising's comments - the company never cared about it's employees. I imagine the executives are going to come out alright. "

 One more wrote on February 1, 2008 3:52 pm:
" One by one they go. Notice Naperville, Ill. didn't
move to Nebraska!!!! Why should company officials my
comments. If Nebraskans' can't figure out why they move
I guess they deserve what they get. Nebraska is NOT a
friendly state to do business or live!!! Guess they just
learned the Nebraska hateful, underhanded way to operate!! "

 No Big Deal wrote on February 1, 2008 5:18 pm:
" The employees at MetroGroup are what I call the Wal-Mart type of workers and really, with a new Wal-Mark going up as we speak, its no big deal. Tell these people that they all have great jobs waiting for them at Wal-Mart and not to worry. Basically it takes companies like MetroGroup to close in order to free up the workforce needed to get the new store opened. You see, this isn't really a big deal after all! "

 Excuse Me? wrote on February 1, 2008 11:24 pm:
" Well, being one of the 270 that heard the news today, I can tell you that every soul that is a part of that team deserves better than your attempt at making you feel better about yourself by throwing out insults.
There has been a lot of honest, hard work done there over the years, both mentally and physically by educated and dedicated human beings. I hope those that aren't fortunate enough to find something else enjoy spending your tax money to support their families in the interim.
"

 Bad Deal wrote on February 1, 2008 11:37 pm:
" It appears the executives took care of themselves and left the employees hanging. Not surprising, as the employees were always treated like dirt. Mismanagement was rampant. The reason the employees stayed is that there are only limited employment opportunities in the Seward area. Hopefully the Seward officials will find a solution to offset the damage that has been done. "

 M.G.Employee wrote on February 2, 2008 12:18 am:
" There is a big difference in wal-mart and metro... starting pay...A lot of employees at metro have put good years into that place, walmart can't even compare... "

 Rethink your thoughts wrote on February 2, 2008 12:51 am:
" the employees losing their jobs are not "Wal-Mart" employees. They are skilled individuals who could manage the Wal-mart. Sadly, Wal-mart will not hire that many managers. I worked for MetroGroup/Cole for six months. In six months, I witnessed many non-employee friendly moves. The writing was on the wall when the CFO was let go without any word. The new CFO making $$$ while not letting any employees getting a raise. Best of wishes to everyone affected. "

 Arni wrote on February 2, 2008 6:05 am:
" Place the blame where it really belongs. Citi Bank Capitol One and all the other companies who made easy credit to greedy people. The home equity line of credit, and easy morgage campaigns of 2 years ago have now come home to roost not only for the greedy lenders and consumers but also for employees of many marketing firms. You should see some of the loan offers out there that offer 15 to 20 percent collaterized car loans. Signature loans at local banks are less than that. This is not the only company that is restructuring. You ain't seen nothing yet when it comes to layoffs. Nebraska is 6 to 9 months behind the east and west coast when it comes to the effects of the economy.
The current state of the economy is a wake up call for all the "see it, like it, buy it" people out there but most of them will continue to sleep! Such a pity.
"

 this is another reason wrote on February 2, 2008 6:51 am:
" why cities should not give companies a tax break. They stick around until that time wears off then gone padding there pockets and laughing all the way to the bank. "

 whatever wrote on February 2, 2008 7:04 am:
" Who knows why they chose to not stay in Nebraska, but never underestimate the lack of a skilled work force in Nebraska, especially in the rural areas. Most anyone that has anything on the ball leaves the state. As I have said before the "brain drain" in this state has hit critical mass. "

 Theresa wrote on February 2, 2008 1:06 pm:
" To the people who lost their jobs: I'm so sorry. I hope that you find a better place to work. "

 Former Employee wrote on February 6, 2008 2:50 pm:
" I just heard the news this week. I had worked for MG for 7 years and quit this fall. The work load had its ups and downs but nothing like we saw recently. I didn't really want to quit but I felt like I had no choice. Now, I am glad I made the decision to leave when I did.

There are a couple of differences between MG Employees and ones that work at Wal-Mart. The jobs run the range from Machine Op to Mechanic to Programmer to management. The people I worked with were very highly skilled and dedicated. They were not just people who walked in off the street. Most people I knew had 5+ years put in. MG also paid above the average and offered very good benefits.

The bottom line is that places like MG need to learn that the employees make the company. They can move the jobs away , but they can never make up for the experience they are loosing by the move. "

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