PORTLAND, Maine — The Sitel call center in Caribou expects to lay off more than half of its 200 employees in July, after losing a contract with Internet service provider Comcast.
In a notice to employees, the company said it will remain open but could cut as many as 120 positions after the Comcast contract expires July 21. The company will not close its Caribou location, where it has other customers.
“We are working tirelessly to bring in new business to the site to reduce or eliminate the potential reduction in workforce,” the company stated in a notice to the state’s Department of Labor.
The company notified employees and the state’s Department of Labor of the layoffs on May 17, under federal and state law requiring notice at least 60 days in advance.
The company said the layoffs would take place between July 17 and July 31, cutting about 120 positions.
The company estimated those layoffs would include 84 customer service positions, five coaches and five coach apprentices, 16 agent support mentors, two call-monitoring specialists, three learning specialists and one learning specialist apprentice, two operations managers and one operations manager apprentice and one workforce coordinator.
Sitel moved from Loring Commerce Centre last March, which Caribou economic development officials hoped would help revitalize the city’s downtown.
In its letter to the state’s Labor Department, Sitel’s regional Human Resources Director Matt Doyle wrote that the company remains committed to working with the city.
“We are very proud to continue to serve the Caribou community,” Doyle wrote. “We will be doing our absolute best during this transition to support our associates impacted.”
The company said its full-time associates will retain benefits through the last day of July and told employees that most who remain on through the expected final day of calling for Comcast will “in most cases” be eligible for unemployment insurance.
Julie Rabinowitz, spokeswoman for the Maine Department of Labor, said a Rapid Response team from the department has been assigned to work with those employees through their last day of work.