Fredericton IT company fears losing workers to Radian6

The owner of one of Fredericton's most successful information technology companies is worried he's going to lose trained workers to another IT company that's expanding with help from the provincial government.

Keith McIntosh, of Professional Quality Assurance Ltd. (PQA), says his employees andthe employees of other IT companies in the city, may be lured to one of 300 new full-time jobsbeing created bysocial media monitoring company Radian6in Fredericton and Saint John.

"We're all sharing the same pool of people that want to work in the industry," he said.

"We've seen a little bit of the effect of Radian6's successboth good and bad. It's good for the industry, but at the same time, it's really hurting ourthey're really taking some of the people that we depend on."

The provincial government is providing Radian6 with a $3.8-million payroll rebateto help the company expand its workforce, Economic Development Minister Paul Robichaud announced in the legislature on June 13.

The money will come from Invest NB, a provincial Crown agency intended to promote economic growth.

Robichaud expects the expenditure will contribute about $8.5 million to the provinces gross domestic product annually.

A Moncton-basedeconomic development analyst recently suggested the government investment may have kept Radian6 from shipping the jobs off to another province.

David Campbell told CBC News Radian6 is now a mature, reliable company that's attracting interest from other job-hungry governments.

Radian6, founded in 2006, was acquired by Salesforce.com in March 2011 for $326 million.

The companytracks what's being said about products on social media websites, such as Facebook, Twitter and blogs.

Its clients include global giants, such as Dell, General Electric, Pepsi and Molson.