<p>First Data Corp. will close its Macon facility next year, cutting about 300 jobs.</p><p>Much of the work will be moved to Omaha, Neb., where the company will add about 200 positions, said company spokeswoman Donna Pennington.</p><p>First Data, the parent company of money transfer service Western Union, announced earlier this month it would lay off 1,000 workers _ about 3 percent of its work force. Last week, it announced a Summerville, S.C., call center would close as part of the company's cost-cutting effort, eliminating 150 jobs.</p><p>The Macon office provided statement printing, mailing and embossing for credit cards. Its employees will receive severance benefits and outplacement services, the company said.</p><p>In November, First Data said it was looking at options for its struggling credit card business, such as a sale or spinoff, and that its chief executive officer, Charles T. Fote, had retired.</p><p>First Data said closing its Macon office is part of an effort to make the company more efficient.</p><p>"We have been looking at, on an ongoing basis, streamlining all of our operations to reduce costs, and this is part of the overall companywide initiative," Pennington said.</p><p>The First Data office is one of several closings that will affect the Macon area in 2006.</p><p>An R.J. Reynolds Tobacco plant will close in the summer, putting about 900 workers out of a job. In March, Kellogg Co. announced it would close a Keebler cookie and cracker plant, eliminating 400 jobs.</p><p>___</p><p>HASH(0x1cd9f7c)</p>
