Embarq Corp., a Kansas-based company that serves 5 million customers, announced the closing in October.
Charles Fleckenstein, spokesperson for Embarq, said the reason for the closure was simply to remain competitive.
“We are in a very competitive industry, so where we can cut costs, we look to do that,” he said. “We have to continually evaluate how we can be more efficient, and eliminate redundancies.”
The closing will not affect customer service, Fleckenstein said, because more people are conducting their business online, instead of calling into call centers for customer support.
Embarq employs 19,000 people in 18 states. Embarq, which is listed in the S&P 500, offers an innovative number of services that include local and long distance home phone service, high-speed Internet, wireless and satellite TV.
The company is a relatively new corporation, having come into existence in 2004.
Meanwhile, Fleckenstein said the company has been working with those displaced workers to help them find new jobs within the company.
“We have been helping those employees,” he said. “We are actively helping them update their resumes and taking calls from other companies that may have positions open for them.”
Horace Dicks, who represents the Texas Workforce Center in Belton, met with many of those employees at the end of October to discuss their options.
“We had a rapid response meeting with them,” Dicks said. “We shared with them basically what we do in terms of trying to assist individuals employment, as well if they need to update their skills.”
Flecksenstein said Embarq was able to offer positions to many of those displaced employees at one of the 16 other call centers in the United States.
“There are a number who have moved within the company and found other positions,” he said.
Fleckenstein was unable to provide the exact number of employees Embarq had retained.
bkirk@temple-telegram.com
