Student lender Sallie Mae cut the ribbon on a new employment site in the New Castle area in a ceremony attended by the governor and the entire Congressional delegation.
The new office, located at 86 Christiana Road in New Castle, will be home to more than 500 jobs for the company, which currently employs nearly 900 in Delaware. The company has its headquarters in Christiana-Stanton
Sallie Mae invested $8.4 million to expand operations beyond its headquarters, including renovation, construction, technology, and talent to enhance the customer experience.
The new office will accommodate credit, fraud prevention, and collections departments, with positions expected to generate $28.3 million in annual salary and benefits. CEO Raymond Quinlan said the jobs pay an average of $76,000 each in salary and benefits.
Sallie Mae received a financial package from the state. The company agreed to work to hire employees of Barclays and HSBC. Both companies cut jobs from their operations. HSBC phased out operations at the same complex as the one occupied by Sallie Mae. (See story below)
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Quinlan said the company considered all other states in the U.S. but decided Delaware was the best fit for the company.
In remarks at the ceremony, Quinlan said the site performs vital work for Sallie Mae by helping borrowers who have found themselves in difficult circumstances.
He noted that credit quality is high at Sallie Mae, with a delinquency rate of two percent.
Eight thousand families in Delaware have taken out Sallie Mae loans, the CEO noted.
Sallie Mae renovated and equipped the 57,000-square-foot space at 86 Christiana Road and relocated some operations from its headquarters earlier this year.
The company relied on local contractors to completely update and modernize the new facility. The center includes 515 workstations, multiple conference and training rooms, and a full-service cafeteria and breakroom, arcade and fitness center.
More than 325 employees already work at the new facility. The company plans to add 285 more jobs at its headquarters and Christiana Road facility by 2020.
As part of the announcement, The Sallie Mae Fund contributed $50,000 to the Food Bank of Delaware.
The donation completes a two-year commitment of $100,000 for the Food Bank’s Creating a Bold Future campaign to retrofit construction of a new Food Bank of Delaware headquarters in Glasgow.
Company employees regularly participate in the Food Bank’s various community activities. Sallie Mae employee Andrew Zeltt was recently named the Food Bank’s Volunteer of the Year.
