California’s loss is Washington’s gain. Cable TV and Internet giant Comcast says it will move some 1,000 call-center jobs from three cities in Northern California to call centers in Washington, Oregon and Colorado. About 140 of those positions will come to existing Comcast customer-service centers in Lynnwood and Everett.
The company Tuesday cited the high cost of living and doing business in California as the reason behind the decision to shut down the call centers in Sacramento, Livermore and Morgan Hill at the end of November.
Steve Kipp, vice president of communications for Comcast in Washington, said expansion here will mean an increase of 180 call-center jobs in the state, where the company already employs 1,300 call-center workers. There are about 360 call-center workers now in Lynnwood, which also is the company’s state headquarters, and 337 in Everett. Comcast also has a call center in Fife in Pierce County, with 616 workers.
Comcast is reorganizing call centers around areas of specialization, Kipp said in an email.
“When all the positions are filled in the coming months, Comcast’s Fife call center customer service representatives will handle calls from Comcast customers throughout the West who want to order new services,” Kipp said, “while the call centers in Lynnwood and Everett will take calls from customers who need help with Comcast products and services, including cable television, high-speed Internet and phone service.”
Job openings here will be posted at www.comcast.com/careers. “We will be hiring immediately and expect to continue to fill openings into next year,” Kipp said.
Displaced California workers were receiving information about severance or relocation. Regional vice president Andrew Johnson said Comcast still will employ about 20,000 people in that state.
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