Oct. 3--Charlotte's University City area is worried about potential fallout from Citigroup's planned purchase of Wachovia's banking operations.

Roughly half of Wachovia's 20,000 Charlotte employees work at the 2-million-square-foot Customer Information Center in University Research Park. Most of the other 10,000 work in the center city.

"If the CIC totally went away, it would take half the employment base in University Research Park," said Mary Hopper, executive director of University City Partners.

Financial analysts say Wachovia's retail bank is the prize for Citigroup in its acquisition of more than $700 billion in Wachovia assets.

Citi has said it will merge its smaller retail bank into Wachovia's and maintain "a strong presence" in Charlotte.

Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit praised the know-how and customer-service reputation of Wachovia's operation.

The CIC houses Wachovia's customer service, operations and technology functions, and it would appear to be a crucial part of the business Citi wants.

None of Citi's comments on the acquisition address the CIC specifically.

Citi did say in a statement that it expects to realize "more than $3 billion of annualized expense synergies through the consolidation of overlapping functions."

Translation: A sizable number of jobs will disappear.

Financial analysts believe as many as 7,000 Charlotte Wachovia jobs could be in jeopardy.

That's why Wachovia employees and businesses that depend on them in the center city and at University City are worried.

"People at the CIC are concerned as we all are, but it's too early to tell what is going to happen there," said Bob Wilhelm, board chairman of University City Partners.

Gwenn Bezard of Aite Group, a Boston financial services consulting firm, wouldn't speculate on the CIC's fate. But he said he would be surprised if Citigroup, seeking to expand its footprint in the Southeast, shuts it down.

"My expectation is there will be cuts across the board in Wachovia and Citigroup," Bezard said. "If they start cutting just on one side, it's demoralizing. They will lose a lot of talent."

In addition, he said, "They want to be a good citizen. They don't want to create tons of anger and resentment."

In the Carolinas, Citi's Cards Customer Service in Greensboro employs 1,400, and its Fort Mill operations center (1,500 employees) supports real estate and auto lending and the CitiFinancial consumer credit card business.

In University City, major job reductions at the CIC would hurt businesses in the area's commercial core, Hopper said.

About 750 retailers, health care providers, restaurants, financial service firms and research park employers are located there.

When the CIC opened in 1997, bankers considered it an industry model with its mix of technology and employee amenities ranging from medical offices to child care.

Even former Bank of America Chairman Hugh McColl Jr. toured the center when his bank was developing plans for Gateway Village in the center city.

Doug Smith: 704-358-5174: dougsmith@charlotteobserver.com

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