Silicon Valley IT firm planned Dublin office, then got acquired. Now it's being sued by JobsOhio. [Aggressive paywalling and adblocking. Story in text.]

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Silicon Valley IT firm planned Dublin office, then got acquired. Now it's being sued by JobsOhio. [Aggressive paywalling and adblocking. Story in text.] (www.bizjournals.com)

By Carrie Ghose – Staff reporter, Columbus Business First Aug 21, 2023

JobsOhio has sued a Silicon Valley firm for going silent after accepting services to attract and train workers in exchange for creating 200 jobs in a Dublin office announced four years ago.

The office appears to have closed, the company got acquired and renamed, and LinkedIn indicates the company has fewer than 30 employees today in the Columbus region.

JobsOhio, the private statewide economic development organization, is seeking repayment of $429,750 in recruiting assistance the organization supplied to the former Nexient, according to the complaint filed this month in Franklin County Common Pleas Court. It also asks the court to award interest, attorney fees and "other such relief the court may deem appropriate."

The parent company, NTT Data, through a spokeswoman declined to comment, citing active litigation. There was no response to followup questions about the number of Ohio employees.

The former Nexient LLC announced its Ohio expansion in spring of 2019, creating a third Midwest custom software engineering center. The firm competed against off-shoring IT consultants with an all-U.S. workforce. It had opened an Ann Arbor office a year earlier, pledging 300 jobs in Michigan.

Both the Ohio Tax Credit Authority and city of Dublin approved jobs creation incentives. However, this week both Dublin and the state Department of Development said Nexient never executed a final signed agreement, so no incentives were ever paid and the agencies did not collect any jobs data.

Nexient did sign a "talent acquisition services" agreement with JobsOhio in July 2019. The organization agreed to provide up to $500,000 in in-kind and contracted services to help the firm fill the jobs, including designing marketing campaigns, advertising online and in social media and running sponsorship events, according to the complaint.

The firm had two local employees at the time; the agreement called for it to create 200 jobs in an office at 6500 Emerald Pkwy. in Dublin. The agreement was amended twice, according to the complaint, but the new versions still included the "essential terms to this agreement" to create jobs "at the project address" – and report annual totals each year by March 1.

The lawsuit quotes sections of the agreement, but a full copy was not filed as an exhibit because it contains trade secrets, the complaint said.

The firm did not submit its annual jobs report for 2022, the complaint said, and did not respond either to letters asking for the report or demanding repayment because of the breach.

NTT Data, based in suburban Dallas, acquired Nexient for undisclosed terms in May 2021, saying in a release it had a "delivery center" in Columbus. This April, NTT grouped Nexient with other acquisitions and rebranded them Launch by NTT Data.

A tenant reached by phone at 6500 Emerald Pkwy. said neither the names Nexient or Launch appear in the building directory. Nexient's Google Maps entry for the location includes a phone number for the Ann Arbor office, where no one answered.

The Launch by NTT LinkedIn profile indicates 40 employees in Ohio, 29 of those in the Columbus region. The company's job listings and LinkedIn posts by its recruiters mention that jobs are 100% remote.

Last September, the state of Michigan modified its incentive agreement with the firm, then still called Nexient, to reduce its base employment level to 350 from nearly 500, and extended deadlines to reach job creation targets to this September, according to an agenda packet for the Michigan Strategic Fund.

JobsOhio has sued 27 grant, loan and recruiting help recipients in five years, including three this month. A spokesman declined to comment on any one case but in a statement said the organization first tries to help companies find ways to overcome business challenges when they miss goals set in agreements.

“However, we take the stewardship of our dollars very seriously because they go to supporting jobs and investment to Ohioans," it said. "If companies fail to meet their agreed commitments and we’ve exhausted all options to help them grow in Ohio, we will claw back our dollars so they can be used for future economic development projects."

By Carrie Ghose – Staff reporter, Columbus Business First Aug 21, 2023 JobsOhio has sued a Silicon Valley firm for going silent after accepting services to attract and train workers in exchange for creating 200 jobs in a Dublin office announced four years ago. The office appears to have closed, the company got acquired and renamed, and LinkedIn indicates the company has fewer than 30 employees today in the Columbus region. JobsOhio, the private statewide economic development organization, is seeking repayment of $429,750 in recruiting assistance the organization supplied to the former Nexient, according to the complaint filed this month in Franklin County Common Pleas Court. It also asks the court to award interest, attorney fees and "other such relief the court may deem appropriate." The parent company, NTT Data, through a spokeswoman declined to comment, citing active litigation. There was no response to followup questions about the number of Ohio employees. The former Nexient LLC announced its Ohio expansion in spring of 2019, creating a third Midwest custom software engineering center. The firm competed against off-shoring IT consultants with an all-U.S. workforce. It had opened an Ann Arbor office a year earlier, pledging 300 jobs in Michigan. Both the Ohio Tax Credit Authority and city of Dublin approved jobs creation incentives. However, this week both Dublin and the state Department of Development said Nexient never executed a final signed agreement, so no incentives were ever paid and the agencies did not collect any jobs data. Nexient did sign a "talent acquisition services" agreement with JobsOhio in July 2019. The organization agreed to provide up to $500,000 in in-kind and contracted services to help the firm fill the jobs, including designing marketing campaigns, advertising online and in social media and running sponsorship events, according to the complaint. The firm had two local employees at the time; the agreement called for it to create 200 jobs in an office at 6500 Emerald Pkwy. in Dublin. The agreement was amended twice, according to the complaint, but the new versions still included the "essential terms to this agreement" to create jobs "at the project address" – and report annual totals each year by March 1. The lawsuit quotes sections of the agreement, but a full copy was not filed as an exhibit because it contains trade secrets, the complaint said. The firm did not submit its annual jobs report for 2022, the complaint said, and did not respond either to letters asking for the report or demanding repayment because of the breach. NTT Data, based in suburban Dallas, acquired Nexient for undisclosed terms in May 2021, saying in a release it had a "delivery center" in Columbus. This April, NTT grouped Nexient with other acquisitions and rebranded them Launch by NTT Data. A tenant reached by phone at 6500 Emerald Pkwy. said neither the names Nexient or Launch appear in the building directory. Nexient's Google Maps entry for the location includes a phone number for the Ann Arbor office, where no one answered. The Launch by NTT LinkedIn profile indicates 40 employees in Ohio, 29 of those in the Columbus region. The company's job listings and LinkedIn posts by its recruiters mention that jobs are 100% remote. Last September, the state of Michigan modified its incentive agreement with the firm, then still called Nexient, to reduce its base employment level to 350 from nearly 500, and extended deadlines to reach job creation targets to this September, according to an agenda packet for the Michigan Strategic Fund. JobsOhio has sued 27 grant, loan and recruiting help recipients in five years, including three this month. A spokesman declined to comment on any one case but in a statement said the organization first tries to help companies find ways to overcome business challenges when they miss goals set in agreements. “However, we take the stewardship of our dollars very seriously because they go to supporting jobs and investment to Ohioans," it said. "If companies fail to meet their agreed commitments and we’ve exhausted all options to help them grow in Ohio, we will claw back our dollars so they can be used for future economic development projects."

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