Martinsville Bulletin, Inc.
P. O. Box 3711
204 Broad Street
Martinsville, Virginia 24115
276-638-8801
Toll Free: 800-234-6575
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| Move will eliminate 279 jobs by late September |
The GSI Commerce call center at the Patrick Henry Mall will close this fall. |
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
By KIM BARTO - Bulletin Staff Writer
GSI Commerce Inc.’s decision to consolidate its four call centers into three is resulting in the closing of its Martinsville center and the loss of 279 jobs.
The facility at Patrick Henry Mall on East Church Street will begin a phased shut-down in June, with final closure targeted for the end of September, according to a news release from GSI’s corporate office in Pennsylvania. The company notified affected employees Tuesday, the release said.
The release cited available capacity and growth of the company’s work-at-home program as factors in the decision.
The job cuts will begin on or around June 21, when 135 people will be let go, said Greg Ryan, GSI’s director of corporate communications. Plans are for six people to be let go around June 26, one person around June 31, 37 people around July 10, 11 people around July 30, and 89 people around Sept. 30.
The local call center employs about 237 hourly and shift workers who generally earn between $8 and $8.50 an hour. Those who are asked to work through September will be offered a retention bonus, Ryan said.
The 42 exempt employees, who generally are salaried, will receive severance packages, Ryan said. The nonexempt, or hourly, employees will not. Details about the severance package are not being released, he said.
Employees will be offered information about COBRA, or continuation of health benefits, Ryan said.
The 208 employees at the GSI fulfillment center, on Hollie Drive in Henry County, will not be affected. The fulfillment center, where orders are filled, is expected to hire about 220 seasonal workers for full- and part-time work during the fourth quarter.
The release also said that the fulfillment center recently added three new clients, and “there could be additional hiring at this facility as new business is added during the year.”
The call center is closing because GSI is consolidating its four call centers into three, the release said.
“After an analysis of its customer care operations that included capacity in existing facilities, business processes, use of virtual technologies and lease considerations, GSI Commerce concluded that it could achieve long-term operational improvements if it consolidated,” the release stated.
The Martinsville center serves about 12 clients, and they will be transferred to the remaining call centers in Melbourne, Fla.; Eau Claire, Wis.; and Brunswick, Ga., Ryan said.
Those centers “have the capacity to accommodate those 12 clients,” Ryan said, and they will hire about 160 additional people as a result.
Two of the three other centers also “have a very successful work-at-home program,” launched in 2007, he added. GSI plans to expand its network of employees who work at home.
Also, GSI’s lease on the Martinsville call center expires at the end of the summer. The Martinsville facility was opened in 1999 and was acquired as part of GSI’s acquisition of Accretive Commerce in September 2007, the release said.
The company does not expect the consolidation to have any material impact on its fiscal 2009 operating results, and the call center volume expectations for fiscal 2009 have not changed, the release said.
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