Qwest to lay off 235 in Seattle

Qwest on Thursday announced the closure of its Seattle call center, taking 235 jobs out of Rain City. Some 216 affected employees will be given the option to move to Boise, where Qwest is consolidating its consumer credit-and-collection facilities, or to Qwest offices in Des Moines, Phoenix, or Salt Lake City. The other 19 -- managers -- can apply for jobs elsewhere in the company.

The company's office space in downtown Seattle is also on the market, though around 1,600 Qwest employees will still work there once the call center's gone. Qwest will announce its fourth-quarter and full-year 2008 earnings on February 10. Shares closed up .15 at 3.55 on the NYSE Thursday afternoon.