Less than a year after consolidating its Minot operations through a 7,800-foot expansion, eTelecare employees were told Wednesday that the company will be closing its doors effective Oct. 30, leaving approximately 80 people without jobs.
"It was strictly a business decision," said corporate spokesman Mark Skoog. "Our business is directly related to our clients' business, so when they hurt we feel it too."
He further explained that the decision to close the Minot call center was two-fold: number of clients and secondly, the number of employees.
The call center, which handles cell phone sales and warranty or other related issues for AT&T, once employed approximately 300 people, but is currently now down to about 80 employees.
Skoog said two of eTelecare's other facilities in Phoenix, Ariz., and Rio Rancho, N.M., had the ability to absorb the work and will thus split the workload currently being performed at the Minot call center when it closes at the end of October.
Current employees of eTelecare have the option to apply for a comparable position at the centers in Arizona and New Mexico.
Coincidentally, the merger of eTelecare with Stream Global Services was effective Thursday, although Skoog emphasized that the merger played no part in the decision to close the Minot facility.