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Farmington call center Startek to lay off 472, citing loss of Charter work

The provider of customer experience management solutions said in a letter that Charter on April 28 issued a notice of termination.
Credit: REDPIXEL - stock.adobe.com

FARMINGTON, Mo. — A Farmington call center says it will be forced to lay off 472 workers, as it is losing a contract with Charter Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: CHTR).

Denver-based Startek (NYSE: SRT) told the state of Missouri May 17 that the layoffs at the facility, 1828 Landrum Drive, No. 9101, will begin May 29 and end July 29. Affected roles include customer care representatives and managers.

The provider of customer experience management solutions said in a letter that Charter on April 28 issued a notice of termination.

"Startek immediately began discussions with the client to negotiate an alternative solution that would avoid the termination of the agreement and to assess whether associates could be transferred to other available positions within the Startek organization to avoid layoffs," it said. "Startek was hopeful it would be able to negotiate a resolution with the client as its agreement with Startek was intended to continue through June 2023."

But Charter, the letter said, on May 9 sent a revised plan, which decreases the services Startek provides from May through July, with it terminating at the end of that month.

Startek, which didn't immediately respond to a request for comment, added that it "cannot guarantee that there will be available positions for displaced employees within the next six months."

A spokeswoman for Charter, the telecommunications giant, said the move, involving customer chat roles, is part of a push to bring customer service in-house, a process that began following its acquisitions of Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks in 2016. She added that the firm's "core product customer service teams are all in-house and on-shore."

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