Despite U.S. employment gains, Verizon Wireless to cut 3,175 support jobs
Friday's big U.S. news might be that more than 220 thousand jobs were added in the month of February, but not everything is as bright and shiny in the world of communications.
The nation's largest mobile network operator Verizon Wireless announced it will be shutting down several of its U.S. support centers and eliminating as many as 3,175 non-union jobs by the end of the third quarter of 2012.
VZW's call centers in Bellevue, Washington and Southfield, Michigan will be closed by July, and its Houston, Texas call center will be closed by the end of September. These three combined employ an estimated 2,600 workers.
"This was a very difficult but necessary business decision," a statement from Verizon Wireless said. "Our employees are very highly skilled and we want to help as many as possible find other jobs within the company. We’re encouraging employees in good standing to apply for other positions close to home or to consider relocating with assistance that includes $10,000 in after-tax dollars. We are committed to giving customers the best wireless network and even better customer service from our 28 US-based call centers."
The further reductions will reportedly come from site consolidation in two California-based call centers (Rancho Cordova and Folsom) and two Webchat support centers in Dublin, Ohio, and Elgin, Illinois.
Verizon Wireless is a joint venture with U.S. Telecommunications company Verizon and UK wireless network operator Vodafone, the latter of which has been experiencing declining mobile voice and messaging revenues in European markets such as Spain and Italy.
Four thousand union employees of Vodafone Spain this week agreed to a temporary lay-off as a cost-cutting measure to ensure their job security in the longer term.
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