Temporary Amherst, N.Y., GEICO offices fill up with new hires.
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The nation’s fifth-largest auto insurer has opened for business in an Amherst office park, demonstrating the rapid growth that has characterized its nationwide success. It has hired the first group of employees at its new sales, customer service and claims center, and is now bursting at the seams. Geico Corp. chose Western New York late last year as the site of its fifth full-size service facility to accommodate the company’s expansion. The insurer already has a separate staff of adjusters locally, but the new center will serve customers for all of upstate New York. And it’s up to general manager John Zinno to make sure the process goes smoothly as more than 2,500 workers are planned to be hired over several years. “We’re a growing company, and we came here to support that growth,” said Zinno, a 31-year veteran of Geico. “We’re looking for the associates that are going to help us grow in the future.” However, Geico’s continued expansion is not assured, as it faces new and stiffer competition even within the world of direct insurance sales. That will lead to pressure on its bottom line and possibly to slower growth, analysts say. But that’s not stopping the company. Already, about 180 Western New York employees are housed in its temporary home on John Muir Drive, selling policies by phone or completing… |