A 75,000 square-foot print production facility and data center that opened in Newark 10 years ago is shutting down and laying off its 116 employees.

Mimeo.com, a digital printing and content management company based in New York, will close its plant on Mt. Olivet Avenue this year as it looks to expand its facility in Memphis, Tennessee, or open another location elsewhere in the U.S.

"Newark is fantastic and the people were fantastic. We had a great 10 years there," Mimeo CEO John Delbridge told NJ Advance Media.

He said the company has built a network of partners in the area that will continue some of the services provided by the Newark facility. "It was a business decision for us that we could better service our customers ... (by) leveraging our other resources," Delbridge said.

Mimeo opened its Newark plant in 2008, welcomed by then-Mayor Cory Booker, now U.S. Senator, as a sign of the city starting to turn the corner.

The facility had the capacity to produce more than 1 million printed pages a day. It was close to shipping hubs and the airport, allowing it to provide overnight delivery of documents. Since then the company has grown, with revenues exceeding $100 million, Delbridge said.

But the company has looked elsewhere in its expansion plans.

"Other cities, municipalities, and states are offering a lot of incentives that make it very appealing to set up operations in those locations," Delbridge said.

The economic development agency in Memphis approved a 15-year tax break should the company choose to expand there. "We're a smaller company and frankly the tax rates are very expensive in New Jersey," he added.

Mimeo received about $49,900 from the New Jersey Economic Development Authority as part of the Business Employment Incentive Program for companies that were creating jobs in the state. It is still owed $144,000 from that grant, the state said.

Those payments were delayed, in part, in 2016 by former Gov. Christie as he tried to balance the budget. Companies were instead allowed to convert their grants to tax credits but Mimeo opted not to do so, a spokeswoman for NJEDA said.

Yet the company could be asked to return the grant dollars it has received since it did not maintain a minimum level of jobs in the state for 15 years, according to the NJEDA.

Mimeo is providing its Newark employees with job assistance, including job fairs, resume writing experts and other connections in the industry to help with the transition. Newark employees will also be able to apply for any jobs created either at the new facility or expanded space in Memphis.

"We're making sure that the impact will be as minimal as it will be," Delbridge said. "Fantastic team of people out there. This has nothing to do with the quality, capability and the successes we've had with the team of Newark."

The job reductions are effective July 7, according to a notice filed with the state. WARN notices are required by law to be filed with the Department of Labor.

Karen Yi may be reached at kyi@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @karen_yi or on Facebook.