A Dec. 1 announcement from Wendy’s means 170 jobs will move from Atlanta to Dublin.

As ThisWeekNEWS.com first reported, the fast-food chain announced Dec. 1 that it would consolidate its world headquarters in Dublin, closing an Atlanta Restaurant Support Center in late 2012 and moving at least 170 positions to its headquarters on Dave Thomas Boulevard.

Wendy’s has operated restaurant support centers in both Dublin and Atlanta over the past three years.

Word of the consolidation follows an August announcement in which Wendy’s said it would move its corporate headquarters and about 50 executive positions back to Dublin. The headquarters was moved from Dublin when Wendy’s merged with Arby’s.

“While this was a difficult decision considering the excellent employees we have in Atlanta, I believe it is important to bring our entire restaurant support center together in one location. This action will help us strengthen collaboration and teamwork as we grow our iconic brand,” Wendy’s president and CEO Emil Brolick said in a news release.

Dublin officials said they are pleased about the prospect of 220 jobs coming to Dublin between the August and December announcements.

“Obviously, we’re very excited to hear the news,” Dublin economic development manager Colleen Gilger said. “When Wendy’s first merged with Arby’s and they technically moved the headquarters, in our hearts they were still here. It’s exciting that Wendy’s is making the final move back home again. It just shows you how the Dublin brand and Wendy’s brand align.”

In August, Dublin gave Wendy’s $8.2 million of incentives for the move of its headquarters, which includes a $2.2 million retention grant, a 10-year incentive on payroll performance that would cost the city between $2.9 million and $4.75 million and access to DubLink’s fiber-optic network.

The state also offered $3.8 million in tax credits for the move, which retained about 390 jobs and shifted 50 jobs from Atlanta to Dublin.

The latest announcement comes after the state offered additional incentives to Wendy’s for the restaurant support-center move.

“This offer was a major factor in the company’s decision to consolidate in Ohio,” the news release said.

According to Connie Wehrkamp, deputy press secretary for Gov. John Kasich’s office, total state incentives now include an $8.4-million job-creation tax credit and a $500,000 economic development grant.

“Wendy’s is an iconic Ohio company that belongs right here in central Ohio,” she said. “We’re thrilled to have them back and thrilled that companies are beginning to respond favorably to our efforts to recreate a jobs-friendly climate in Ohio. So far, Ohio has created and retained more than 41,000 jobs this year. It’s exciting to see Ohio begin to get back on track.”

Dublin is not offering additional incentives for the restaurant support-center move, Gilger said.

“Back in the summer when we were working to bring 50-plus executives back to central Ohio and Dublin (we) wanted to set a location for the future relocation of other (Wendy’s) units,” she said. “By being as aggressive as we were É we really hoped that this would be the case that the executive team would be the first domino É until other business units began to roll back into Dublin.”

The move back to Dublin for the company’s headquarters includes an $11-million reinvestment in the existing facility.

“Wendy’s now plans to invest additional capital to expand its corporate offices and meeting space in Dublin to accommodate positions currently based in Atlanta,” the release stated.

Most Atlanta-based employees will be given the option of relocating to central Ohio, the release said.