BILLINGS – Charter Communications Inc. is eliminating its video-repair call service at its Billings center, potentially displacing up to 70 Spectrum employees in the area.
Those 70 workers were notified Tuesday and will be offered new jobs in the Billings call center on Monad Road, company spokesman Bret Picciolo told Q2 News in an email, but the company is also preparing for some to leave.
“An important part of Spectrum’s strategy for providing better customer service is larger call centers, where we can deliver information, training and technology to our representatives much more effectively. At the same time, we know this is a difficult time for our employees in Billings affected by this decision. Every affected employee has been offered a role in our call center sales organization here in Billings. For employees who do not choose to remain with the company, we are working directly with them to provide comprehensive severance benefits, including salary continuation, health insurance and outplacement services,” Picciolo said in a statement.
Charter has about 400 employees in the Billings area. It’s unclear how this latest move will affect the company’s total employment in Billings.
Picciolo said affected employees will have two weeks of paid salary to decide if they want to stay. Those who leave will be eligible for severance, he said.
In 2014, Charter announced it was adding about 100 jobs in Billings in an effort to meet growing demand in the area.
The Stamford, Conn.-based firm is the third largest cable company in the country, following its acquisition two years ago of Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks.
Reporting by Erik Olson – MTN News
