BOTHELL – Washington Mutual is eliminating 850 jobs at its regional call center in Canyon Park, sending those positions overseas and to other states to reduce costs.
The Seattle-based bank began notifying workers Tuesday morning that their customer service jobs will disappear by the end of July. It also is cutting 550 jobs at a similar center near Jacksonville, Fla.
The closures are part of a companywide effort announced last fall to reduce administrative costs and improve efficiency, said spokeswoman Darcy Donahoe-Wilmot.
Some of the lost jobs in Bothell will be outsourced to a third-party call center in the Philippines, and others will go to Washington Mutual facilities in other states. Donahoe-Wilmot would not say specifically how many jobs would go overseas.
“I’m mad because I think they could have given us a little more notice,” Erica Anderson, who works at the call center, told KIRO-TV news after being told about the layoffs.
Some said they plan to leave their jobs before July, though others need more time.
“I don’t really know what I’m going to do right now,” James Watanabe told KIRO.
Laid-off employees will receive severance packages and job placement help, according to Washington Mutual.
Last month, the bank laid off about 100 people from the Canyon Park call center and moved the work to Texas. It also has eliminated thousands of jobs in California and at least six other states.
“We have been announcing several of these initiatives since the beginning of the year,” Donahoe-Wilmot said.
At the same time, Washington Mutual had more than 1,600 people working for vendors in at least three foreign nations at the beginning of the year.
While call center jobs and other positions have been cut or moved away from the Puget Sound region, Donohoe-Wilmot said Washington Mutual is adding jobs in the management ranks.
She added that the job cuts announced Tuesday won’t result in the closure of the Canyon Park facility, which will have about 100 to 200 employees left after July. Other operations also may be moved there in the near future, she said.
Reporter Eric Fetters: 425-339-3453 or fetters@ heraldnet.com.
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