Newell Brands, the maker of familiar consumer lines like Sharpie, Rubbermaid and Yankee Candle, will be relocating its corporate headquarters from Hoboken to Atlanta, taking with it an estimated 100 top management jobs.

The company, lured to the Garden State by a hefty $27 million tax incentive package three years ago, said Friday that relocating its top brass to Atlanta will strengthen the relationship its senior leaders have with those already in the South. Only those in leadership and executive roles are expected to move. Newell's e-commerce division, and roughly 200 employees, will remain in Hoboken.

No tax credits have yet been issued to Newell, an EDA spokesperson said by email Saturday night. The company submitted a certification of completion for its Hoboken project, including the number of jobs created as of the end of 2018, and that documentation is under review, the spokesperson said.

If a company does not meet its goals for job creation and retention for a given year — in Newell’s case, a promised 300 new jobs and $10.9 million in capital investment — an award may be reduced. If a company falls below 80 percent of the agreed-upon numbers, tax credits for that year may be forfeited.

Three of the company's seven operating divisions are in Atlanta, Christopher Peterson, the company's interim chief executive and chief financial officer, said during an earnings call Friday. Those divisions — writing, baby and food — represent more than half of the company’s profits and total an estimated 1,100 employees, he said.

"I see significant value in moving the executive management team closer to the business as we endeavor to improve operating performance," Peterson said during the call. "In addition, I believe working in closer physical proximity will promote better teamwork and communication and provide more opportunities for career advancement for our people."

The company's top executives will be relocating to existing offices in Atlanta, a company spokesperson said. The transition, which will begin in coming months, is expected to be complete by end of the first quarter in 2020.

The consumer goods giant was lured to the Garden State three years ago, after the state's Economic Development Authority voted to award the company $27 million in Grow New Jersey tax incentives over 10 years. At the time, Newell said it would create up to 300 new jobs in Hoboken, at a median salary of about $126,000. The EDA had estimated New Jersey would gain a net benefit of $65 million over 20 years, and said the grant was needed to prevent Newell from expanding elsewhere instead of coming to Hoboken.

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It was unclear whether Newell received any tax breaks from Georgia to return to Atlanta. The company spokesperson did not immediately respond to questions about that possibility.

New Jersey tax incentives programs have received growing criticism, with multiple reports raising an alarm over how difficult it can be to determine whether these programs actually work. Earlier this year, the state comptroller found that the EDA didn't have processes in place to make sure companies actually created the jobs they promised in exchange for millions of dollars in tax breaks.

The move to New Jersey saved some of Newell's top executives from long commutes: Then-Chief Executive Michael Polk had been commuting from New Jersey to Atlanta, according to a Wall Street Journal report at the time. Polk retired in June.

Newell Brands was formed in 2016 after a merger between Atlanta-based Newell Rubbermaid and Jarden Corp., which was based in Norwalk, Connecticut, and Boca Raton, Florida. One month after the merger, the company announced plans to establish its new global headquarters in Hoboken, in a100,000-square-foot space at the Waterfront Corporate Center II on River Street.

When Newell Brands announced plans to open a global office in Hoboken, it was seen as welcome relief at a time when New Jersey was losing several big-name corporate companies to the South.

For instance, in 2015, Mercedes-Benz USA announced it was moving its American headquarters from Montvale to an Atlanta suburb, resulting in the loss of hundreds of jobs in New Jersey. The blow also came in the wake of other big-name companies fleeing South, including Hertz and bubble wrap maker Sealed Air.

Newell Brands has been pursuing an aggressive turnaround plan, Peterson said Friday. One of the company's priorities has been to improve operating margins through savings in areas like overhead costs. That could include cutting down on expenses such as rent. Although the move will result in overhead savings, that was not a primary factor in the decision to relocate, Peterson said.

Earlier this week, Newell Brands appointed Ravi Saligram as its newest president and chief executive, effective Oct. 2. The company's products include a wide range of well-known brands, including Paper Mate, Sharpie, EXPO, Elmer’s, Mr. Coffee, Graco, Rubbermaid and Yankee Candle.