First Niagara Financial Group on Tuesday mixed good news with bad: It shed further light on its expected Connecticut layoffs, yet announced a major sponsorship deal with the New Haven tennis tournament formerly known as the Pilot Pen.
The Buffalo, N.Y. regional lender, which agreed last year to acquire New Haven-based New Alliance Bank for $1.5 billion, said it will lay off 219 Connecticut workers, including 126 in New Haven and 93 in Manchester.
The bank had previously announced that about 230 NewAlliance employees would lose their jobs once the two banks combine back-office and administrative functions. The Bank also said it would eventually add 180 new jobs in Connecticut.Â
The merger is expected to be completed this spring and the layoffs will begin in April and run through the end of the year.
Separately, First Niagara said it agreed to be the presenting sponsor of the New Haven tournament for at least the next three years.
The new tournament name will be “New Haven Open at Yale Presented By First Niagara.” A new tournament logo will be unveiled in the coming months.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
This year’s tournament at the Connecticut Tennis Center at Yale, which is part of the Olympus U.S. Open Series, is scheduled for the week of August 19-27.
“When First Niagara President and Chief Executive Officer John Koelmel and I spoke in September, the future of the tournament was very much in doubt,” said tournament director Anne Worcester. John made it clear, at that time, that he understood the importance of the tournament to the New Haven community and that he intended First Niagara to play a significant role in supporting our future success.”Â
First Niagara’s acquisition of NewAlliance Bank, which is expected to be finalized this spring, has drawn criticism from certain political and social leaders including New Haven Mayor John DeStefano.
Critics have raised concerns that First Niagara has a poor track record when it comes to lending to low- to moderate-income consumers, as well as to small businesses.
First Niagara’s sponsorship agreement comes less than a year after the Pilot Pen announced it would no longer put its nameplate on the tournament, following the company’s headquarters move from New Haven to Florida.
Tournament officials had been unable to secure a title sponsor until First Niagara came forward.
Other tournament co-sponsors include Aetna, American Express, Yale-New Haven Hospital and Yale University. Tournament officials say the sporting event generates $26 million in regional economic impact.
First Niagara will also receive tournament sponsorship benefits including signage that provides substantial branding exposure to more than 80,000 on-site spectators and millions of television viewers via eight hours of coverage on ESPN2, significant on-site exposure to connect with consumers, tickets and hospitality to entertain clients, and more.
