Equifax to close Garden City office, lay off 33

Equifax Inc., one of the country's major credit reporting companies, plans to close its Garden City location and lay off 33 of the unit's 51 employees, according to a state regulatory notice. 

The layoffs are scheduled to begin on Feb. 16 and possibly last for two weeks from that date, the state WARN notice states. The notice cites the reason for the planned shutdown as "economic." The office has been on Long Island since at least 1977, according to Newsday reports.

A spokesman for the Atlanta-based company declined to say what would happen to the remaining 18 employees.  Instead, he provided a statement saying why the facility is closing.

"This strategic realignment is part of our transformation journey to ensure we are allocating our assets and investments in key areas of the business and intensifying our focus on customers. This realignment will increase efficiencies, accelerate our ability to deliver innovative products and solutions to the market, and ultimately foster growth opportunities for both our business and our people."

Equifax, a publicly traded company, continues to suffer from damage to its reputation and bottom line caused by a massive data breach last year that affected millions of consumers, the financial advice company The Motley Fool said in an online report. Last week it noted that Equifax's stock fell 22.3 percent in October primarily because of a poor third-quarter earnings report. 

Under New York’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, companies with at least 50 full-time employees must file a 90-day notice of a mass layoff or closing.