Infor to reduce office space or relocate from Lawson building

The company that bought St. Paul-based Lawson Software last year said it is looking to reduce the amount of office space it rents in the city.

Infor currently rents 260,000 square-feet of office space in downtown St. Paul. Infor spokesman Dan Barnhardt said the company will need only half that much in the future.

The software maker said it has maintained its 650-person workforce in Minnesota, but now conducts customer visits at its New York headquarters and training operations at a facility in Georgia. Technology is also allowing more employees to work remotely, Barnhardt said.

The company's lease on the building expires in 2015, and it has not been decided whether to rent less space at Lawson Commons or relocate.

Joe Campbell, a spokesman for St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman, says the city is not concerned.

"This is the same thing that happens to businesses in every state, in every city across the country," Campbell said. "We're not going to sound the alarm bells at this point right now. But we'll do what we can to make sure that Infor knows that the city is there if we can do anything for them."

St. Paul built Lawson Commons in 1999 with a $101 million public subsidy. It is now privately owned.

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