400 People Relocated To Houston

[houstonsemipro]

March 17, 2005, 9:41PM

Move benefits Houston

400 Citgo employees have relocated here

By L.M. SIXEL

Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

It's been almost a year since Gov. Rick Perry and Luis Marin, Citgo Petroleum Corp.'s then-chief executive, announced a deal that would cement the company's ties to Texas.

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In return for $35 million in taxpayer-backed loans and grants, Citgo promised to move its headquarters to Houston and expand its refinery in Corpus Christi. So, how is the state's deal going so far?

Consider:

[MidtownCoog]

If you live in Katy, did you really move to Houston?

[citykid09]

Good news for Houston. Bad for Tulsa.

[musicman]

Good news for Houston. Bad for Tulsa.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

where in houston will the headquarters be located?

[VelvetJ]

musicman- If I am not mistaken they are in a campus style building near the Energy Corridor near the Katy Freeway near Highway 6.

I suppose this article is to counter the one in yesterdays chronicle about Citgo eliminating 750 call center jobs in Houston over the next few months.

[MidtownCoog]

Pretty sure you have Citgo confused with some other call center.

[westguy]

They are moving into a building on Eldridge near Briar Forest, I believe. The 400 number sucks. Judging from the size of the building and the small number of arrivals, they don't expect many employees to leave their homes. Relocation is probably easier than laying off workers.

[bruce_oneal]

They are moving into a building on Eldridge near Briar Forest....

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

is that westchase then?

[CincoRanch-HoustonResident]

No, it isn't in Westchase. It is on Eldrige@Parkway Plaza. Parkway Plaza is in between Enclave PArkway, and Briar Forest.

[VelvetJ]

Pretty sure you have Citgo confused with some other call center.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Whoops, my bad. I meant Citicorp. They are closing a call center and eliminating 745 jobs.

[bruce_oneal]

Whoops, my bad. I meant Citicorp. They are closing a call center and eliminating 745 jobs.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

dang! that is kinda messed up.

[MidtownCoog]

Add BMC and Shell to the list of recent layoffs.

They just keep them under the radar now days.

[bruce_oneal]

Add BMC and Shell to the list of recent layoffs.

They just keep them under the radar now days.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

i thought the economy was growing?

[kjb434]

The economy is growing, its just flushing out jobs that are profitable. Americans are high skilled to the point where its too expensive to hire them. On the other end of the spectrum there is a class of Americans who don't believe that they have to learn and improve their skills to be a valuable person to hire. They expect that they actually deserve a job and its waiting for them.

No one deserves a job, everyone needs to earn it. If your type of job is being outmoded (such as a factory work), then you have to find a new skill to work at to get another job. People who discover this concept are usually quite sucessful.

[kzseattle]

Add BMC and Shell to the list of recent layoffs.

They just keep them under the radar now days.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I dont know about Shell but I havnt heard of recent layoffs at BMC. Well, I mean more recently. Last time they had layoffs was about 2 years according to what I know. But then I may be wrong.

[ssullivan]

i thought the economy was growing?

It is but so far overall job growth has been very slow for the amount of growth the economy has seen. A lot of that growth has come through productivity gains that were achieved during the last recession when companies had to come up with ways to get the same work done with far fewer people. And call center jobs are endangered in this country in every industry and region, as technology has made it possible to outsource these jobs to other countries (mostly India) where the cost of labor is a tiny fraction of what it is here. You can thank cheap, reliable, high speed networks that allow an international call to the other side of the globe to connect as quickly and reliably as a call to a house across the street.

I consider myself to be very fortunate to be young, affordable, have good technical skills and to be working in an area that's more difficult to outsource than some jobs. I just accepted a great job after six months of being unemployed since being laid off, but I have met lots of people who have a great education and skill set who can't find a decent job after a year or longer of dilligently searching. And these aren't factory workers either. Despite recent gains, the employment picture is still tough, especially in some industries. And when you're broke after a year or two of being unemployed, it's not that easy to pay for the schooling necessary to start over and change careers, or to relocate to an area where jobs in your area of expertise are in demand.

[bruce_oneal]

It is but so far overall job growth has been very slow for the amount of growth the economy has seen. A lot of that growth has come through productivity gains that were achieved during the last recession when companies had to come up with ways to get the same work done with far fewer people. And call center jobs are endangered in this country in every industry and region, as technology has made it possible to outsource these jobs to other countries (mostly India) where the cost of labor is a tiny fraction of what it is here. You can thank cheap, reliable, high speed networks that allow an international call to the other side of the globe to connect as quickly and reliably as a call to a house across the street.

I consider myself to be very fortunate to be young, affordable, have good technical skills and to be working in an area that's more difficult to outsource than some jobs. I just accepted a great job after six months of being unemployed since being laid off, but I have met lots of people who have a great education and skill set who can't find a decent job after a year or longer of dilligently searching. And these aren't factory workers either. Despite recent gains, the employment picture is still tough, especially in some industries. And when you're broke after a year or two of being unemployed, it's not that easy to pay for the schooling necessary to start over and change careers, or to relocate to an area where jobs in your area of expertise are in demand.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

steven i think you are absolutely right! i was laid off from the baltimore city public school system last february. i worked in the educational technology department and was responsible for network video streaming. the board and CIO did not really think this was needed (even though i had been hired to do this just a few months earlier) and spent the next 6 months on unemployment and looking for similar work. well, you know the drill ... unemployment ran out, savings just about ran out, etc.

luckily for me, i am have an entrepreneurial spirit and started my business here upon relocating to houston. it was rocky at first, but doing a lot better now as my name is getting more established and my faith (unshakable) continues to trust in the Creator.

glad to know you landed on your feet as well!

[LTAWACS]

If you live in Katy, did you really move to Houston?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Exactly. Who the hell moves to "west Houston"? Who in their right mind would do something so foolish?

[tw2ntyse7en]

...

[LTAWACS]

I did.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thank you for contributing to sprawl, higher insurance rates, traffic congestion, and air pollution. Thanks!

[kjb434]

Good job bruce oneal. You would make conservatives across the country proud by working hard to create your own business.

LTAWACS: is it really 27's fault for sprawl? Sprawl exists because of demand and the geography of Houston. If people truly didn't like sprawl, they wouldn't live out there, by the way, the population is increasing at a greater rate in the inner city areas than in the burbs. sprawl is slowing down now that developers have reached a point where people would lonly live so far out. Sprawl is just as organic as the inner city. It grows and changes. The sprawl areas will eventually become the newer urban centers, such as Sugarland and the Woodlands. Also, Houston and Dallas traffic from sprawl is next to nothing compared to New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Atlanta.

[CincoRanch-HoustonResident]

Good job bruce oneal.  You would make conservatives across the country proud by working hard to create your own business.

LTAWACS:  is it really 27's fault for sprawl?  Sprawl exists because of demand and the geography of Houston.  If people truly didn't like sprawl, they wouldn't live out there, by the way, the population is increasing at a greater rate in the inner city areas than in the burbs.  sprawl is slowing down now that developers have reached a point where people would lonly live so far out.  Sprawl is just as organic as the inner city.  It grows and changes.  The sprawl areas will eventually become the newer urban centers, such as Sugarland and the Woodlands.  Also, Houston and Dallas traffic from sprawl is next to nothing compared to New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Atlanta.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

We are sprawling a lot more east now. Baytown is growing.

[bruce_oneal]

Good job bruce oneal.  You would make conservatives across the country proud by working hard to create your own business.

LTAWACS:  is it really 27's fault for sprawl?  Sprawl exists because of demand and the geography of Houston.  If people truly didn't like sprawl, they wouldn't live out there, by the way, the population is increasing at a greater rate in the inner city areas than in the burbs.  sprawl is slowing down now that developers have reached a point where people would lonly live so far out.  Sprawl is just as organic as the inner city.  It grows and changes.  The sprawl areas will eventually become the newer urban centers, such as Sugarland and the Woodlands.  Also, Houston and Dallas traffic from sprawl is next to nothing compared to New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Atlanta.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

thanks! it has been a hard road, but it is becoming easier.

as for sprawl ...

maybe there is a natural limit to it ... i mean... you can only move so far from the gravitational center of a city before you become lost (residentially at least) to someplace else.

[tw2ntyse7en]

...

[bruce_oneal]

You're welcome. Sometimes I feel like I'm not doing enough, so this afternoon, I'm going to take some trashbags out of the dumster of my apartment complex and drive up & down the inner-loop dumping all the garbage I can. That way all you inner-loop snobs don't feel left out.

I think later I might go kitten-killing. Any takers?

I guess if we all (5.1 million metro) lived inside the loop, the world would be a better place, right? Then the total undeveloped green space in the US could rise from its current 90+ percent to maybe 90.001+ percent. Wheeeeew, now greenpeace can park their pollution spewing, rally-transport buses & vans, and call it a day.

I guess though I could live inside the loop, and on my salary, live in the ghetto. But I guess thats what I deserve for not going to college and getting a needless corporate white collar job filing papers or developing software that electronically files papers.

I love sprawl. I want to eat it with a spoon.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

ROTFLMAO

i think the thing that gets me is when people (such as relatives that live inside the loop) say things like: "you live so far out..."

uh, it's only relative ...i could say the same thing about people that live out by highway six (or beyond God forbid...).

it's really all relative.

[Lowbrow]

You're welcome. Sometimes I feel like I'm not doing enough, so this afternoon, I'm going to take some trashbags out of the dumster of my apartment complex and drive up & down the inner-loop dumping all the garbage I can. That way all you inner-loop snobs don't feel left out.

I think later I might go kitten-killing. Any takers?

I guess if we all (5.1 million metro) lived inside the loop, the world would be a better place, right? Then the total undeveloped green space in the US could rise from its current 90+ percent to maybe 90.001+ percent. Wheeeeew, now greenpeace can park their pollution spewing, rally-transport buses & vans, and call it a day.

I guess though I could live inside the loop, and on my salary, live in the ghetto. But I guess thats what I deserve for not going to college and getting a needless corporate white collar job filing papers or developing software that electronically files papers.

I love sprawl. I want to eat it with a spoon.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

OMG LOL!!

You sprawl-monger. You and your minions be damned to hell.. wait youve already sentenced yourself to hell... which happens to be only 3.4 miles from heaven.. which is where I live.

[bruce_oneal]

OMG LOL!!

You sprawl-monger. You and your minions be damned to hell.. wait youve already sentenced yourself to hell... which happens to be only 3.4 miles from heaven.. which is where I live.  

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

one could consider westheimer (any part of it past 610 west) to be hell between 4 and 6 pm. i sure do.

[tw2ntyse7en]

...

[kjb434]

Funny, good points.

I figure the places like Sugarland, the Woodlands, and Weschase aren't necessarily sprawl. They are their own urban centers. Why does a city have to have just one or two. Truthfully, having multiple urban centers reduces traffic. If every worked in downtown and uptown, the traffic would be much worse.

[ssullivan]

I really don't consider someone moving to Westchase, which was first developed 30 years ago to be actively contributing to sprawl at this point. The urbanized area sprawled out past Westchase decades ago. The damage is done. Besides, until just over six months ago I lived on Woodland Park Dr. in Westchase. So despite being an inner looper now, I really can't come down too hard on those who live in that area. It's not Katy, it's a hell of a lot closer to places like downtown and the Galleria than Katy, and is generally a pretty nice place to live. Personally I think the west side of town has grown up to a point where I don't really consider the suburbs beginning until about Highway 6, or at least Dairy Ashford. The area along Westheimer and Richmond for several miles west of the beltway is pretty densely developed.