Riverbank Call Center Workers Face Layoffs
Written by Karen Massie, Reporter



Riverbank Call Center Workers Face Layoffs: Karen Massie's Report; 2/14/08
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Workers at the GoAmerica call center in Riverbank are facing tough times.

"I have bills to pay just like anyone else and was looking for security," a 21-year-old GoAmerica employee said. But on Monday, company officials started telling employees many of them will be laid off.

The employee declined to give her name, but said she's an operator who relays messages for the deaf and hearing impaired. "The mood in there is just dark," she said. "People just aren't talking like they were. People just aren't being happy like they do at work."

Last month, GoAmerica purchased the center for $50 million. Employees said they usually handled 80 to 90 calls a day, but last week, the number of calls suddenly dropped off, prompting layoff notices.

"I feel nervous," the young operator said. "I'm a little angry. I feel like I've been tricked. They had told us our jobs were secure."

Former call center workers told News10 most of their calls came from Great Britain and Nigeria. They would put the calls through to businesses who thought they were dealing with people who were deaf. Instead, they claimed callers were using stolen credit cards to buy all kinds of merchandise, such as computers, jewelry and televisions.

GoAmerica spokesman Thomas Rozycki called the layoffs bittersweet. "The center is supposed to handle calls coming from inside the United States. And when we identified [international] calls that shouldn't be on the network, we shut them off," Rozycki said.

"It's unfortunate that they're going to have to let all those jobs go," said Riverbank economic director Tim Ogden. He said the call center is the city's third largest employer.

"Many of the workers are young and I understand most of them work part-time," Ogden said.

Of the 620 employees, workers claim the number of people getting pink slips ranges from 150 to 500. However, the county is expected to ease some of their pain.

"We're partnering up with the county and their rapid response unit to get as many workers retrained and outfitted somewhere else as soon as possible," Ogden said.

That's little consolation for the operator. "They're giving us a severance package. They're doing it very business-like. They're not attacking us. It's just sad. I'm sad," she said.

Rozycki confirmed the company will give part-time workers a six-week severance package and full-time workers will receive eight weeks of compensation.

GoAmerica also has a call center in Tennessee. And like employees in Riverbank, dozens of workers there are apparently getting 60-day layoff notices.


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News10/KXTV
. All Rights Reserved.

Created: 2/14/2008 6:55:57 PM
Updated: 2/14/2008 7:13:44 PM

They would put the calls through to businesses who thought they were dealing with people who were deaf. Instead, they claimed callers were using stolen credit cards to buy all kinds of merchandise, such as computers, jewelry and televisions.