Verizon Wireless, Bedminster, NJ, said that it will increase its call center staff by 6 percent, from 13,800 to 14,700, in a $100 million reorganization of its customer service division.
The expansion will be completed by the end of this year, with more growth projected in 2002 and 2003. New call centers will be opened in Rancho Cordova, CA; Pittsburgh; Greenville, SC; and Salt Lake City.
Centers will be expanded in Wallingford, CT; Alpharetta, GA; Elgin, IL; Southfield, MI; Rochester, NY; Dublin, OH; Orangeburg, NY; and Columbia, SC. Verizon call centers in Atlanta; Greenville, SC; Warrendale, PA; and Folsom, CA, will be relocated locally to larger sites.
Five call centers will be closed at Englewood, CO; Meriam, IL; Woburn, MA; Las Vegas; and Harrisburg, PA. About 700 call center workers will be laid off and offered relocation or severance packages as a result of the closures. The nine call centers to be relocated or closed were too small to handle the company's planned expansion, Verizon said.
