Office Depot swallows Allied.

Byline: Richard Newman

May 18--A Clifton-based office products dealer, which generates more than $300 million in annual revenue, has been acquired by retailer Office Depot.

The purchase of Allied Office Products, announced Wednesday, gives Office Depot a significant number of medium- and large-business customers in the New Jersey and New York area, where Allied is concentrated, but raises questions about the future of roughly 800 employees who worked for Allied across the country.

Office Depot spokesman Brian Levine said the company has hired some, but not all, of Allied's employees, who were spread among more than a dozen sales offices and …