Jeffery Smith | The Leader
Sitel laid off 300 workers at its Canada Road location after Verizon cut ties with the call center, employees said Wednesday.
Sitel’s human resource department handed out letters Monday morning informing employees a major client had cut ties with the call center, forcing Sitel to cut about 75 percent of its staff.
The letter did not say who the client was, but several laidoff employees told The Leader it is Verizon. 
“It was a little bit of a shock,” an employee said.
Andrew Kokes, a Sitel spokesman, said all affected employees were given eight weeks notice of the scheduled Dec. 31 reduction.
“When I moved into town I was told to apply at Sitel,” said Danielle Drake, a Corning resident. “I’m glad I didn’t. I know someone who just got hired there about a month ago and now he’s getting fired.”
“It’s a joke,” said an employee.
Michael Willman, Sitel chief human resources officer, said the cuts will include about 267 customer service representatives, 25 coaches, five coaches’ apprentices, four operating managers and three learning specialists.
Full-time associates who currently have benefits will remain eligible through the end of the year. However, they were asked to sign an agreement to not discuss the details of the layoffs, including publicly naming the company that severed ties with Sitel.
“We were forced to sign a letter so we couldn’t tell anyone what was happening,” a Sitel employee said Tuesday. “I guess Verizon cut us because we weren’t selling enough iPads.”
Joel Campos, site director of Sitel’s Corning facility, said Sitel is working with the State Department of Labor, other government offices and area employers to provide immediate employment and benefits assistance.
“The Corning community has provided some of the best talent and skills across the customer care industry,” Campos said. “This reduction is exclusively based on unforeseen circumstances with one of our clients, and does not reflect the high level of performance and service excellence our employees deliver.”
Erwin Town Manager Rita McCarthy said Sitel, which opened its Canada Road location in March 2008, currently employs about 400 workers.
“As their representative put it, the instance of the loss of a customer occurs more often than they would like,” McCarthy said.
Sitel is an international company that employs more than 50,000 in 140 locations in 27 countries.
source : https://eu.the-leader.com/story/news/2010/11/04/sitel-lays-off-300/44690085007/
