Sitel call center closing; 253 jobs affected Comments 2 | Recommend 0 February 22, 2010 3:05 PM KFDM News has learned a Port Arthur call center that survived a planned closure last year will shut its doors this Saturday, costing more than 250 people their jobs.
A spokesman for Sitel confirmed to KFDM News the company is closing the call center on Highway 365 by Saturday.
253 hourly and salaried workers will lose their jobs.
On December 21 the company notified employees about the planned closure.
Spokesman Andrew Kokes said the closure is due to the "changing business needs of a client and is in no way reflective of the quality of customer care."
The call center was scheduled to close last June but Sitel reached an agreement with the client in July which allowed the center to remain open, although the workforce was reduced from about 410 employees to 350.
The Port Arthur Economic Development Corporation has been working with the City of Port Arthur to bring another call center to the community.
"We've been working closely with the PAEDC to try to attract other work in the area so we don't have 250 people without jobs," Mayor Deloris "Bobbie" Prince told KFDM News. "That's of great concern to us. Nothing has been signed, sealed or delivered but we feel good about the work that's been done to bring in other businesses."
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