Chamber of Commerce President Bob Duffy says he expects the closure of Thomson Reuters’ offices in Rochester will impact about 400 to 425 workers.

Tuesday, a company spokesperson told News 8 that Thomson Reuters would be closing its Rochester offices on East Broad Street.

However, officials wouldn’t give further details on how many workers would be affected by the closure or a date when the offices would officially close.

Speaking Wednesday, Duffy says Thomson Reuters did not contact the Chamber of Commerce or give them a heads-up before the announcement.

“We heard rumblings over the years, but nothing concrete,” Duffy said. “We still have not had any direct contact.”

Duffy says the company may offer some workers the opportunity to move elsewhere. However, the Chamber of Commerce will offer help to any displaced employees.

“We have done a pretty good job in the past with other companies that have closed down, Sentry Safe being one,” Duffy explained. “We have a great staffing and placement agency here and we work very hard to try to get people placed into jobs.”

Duffy said the closure is even more disappointing considering two other major companies in the Rochester area have announced expansions this week: Bausch and Lomb and IDEX.

“We are very resilient in Rochester,” Duffy says. “The last two or three decades, when closings do happen, those jobs seem to get assimilated into our economy and we seem to do a pretty good job at absorbing those employees.”

Heidi Zimmer-Meyer, president of the Rochester Downtown Development Corporation said it was about consolidation. “From the corporate point of view it’s probably a smart move,” said Zimmer-Meyer, “Since they have the capital to make consolidation moves like this.”

She does see some opportunity in labor as many skilled workers may have other opportunities within Rochester. “We really want every single worker who wants to remain in Rochester to get connected with folks that want to have them on the staff.”