FAST FACTS:
(Northeast Memphis 1/25/2010) Employees walked out of Sitel on Sycamore View, some of them knowing their days there are numbered.
The customer service outsourcing company announced it's slashing about 426-employees. That's more than half of the 775 people who work at the Northeast Memphis call center.
"Everybody is trying to make the best of the situation," says Maurice, an employee of more than two years.
He's also one of the people who'll lose his job .
"I'm dealing with it. It's a little hard you know because how things are going in society right now."
The national unemployment rate is now at 10 percent. Here in the Memphis area the latest figures came in slightly lower at 9.8 percent.
That's good news, but the job cuts keep coming.
Sam's Club announced this weekend its cutting 11,000 jobs nationwide.
Sitel first alerted its employees about the cuts on December 31st of last year, then again on Thursday.
Despite the warning, employees say they saw the axe coming.
After three months of job searching, Florence, a soon to be laid off mother of two, says she's giving-up her search for now.
"Right now it's kind of hard to find a job. So now's the time to finish school.
More than 260 of the people who'll lose their jobs were temporary employees.
We're told companies like Comcast, Dish TV and medical insurers outsourced their customer services to Sitel.
Though Maurice has been pocketing his checks and has months of savings stocked up, he's still got bills to pay. One of them, this recently purchased used car.
That's why the veteran call center representative is just hoping someone will call him soon with a job.
"I'm experienced. I have great customer service skills," he said laughing. "I'm open and intelligent and willing to do whatever; just a hard worker."
- Sitel cutting 426 jobs
- The cuts are more than half of its workforce
- Some of the cuts are temporary or seasonal job positions
(Northeast Memphis 1/25/2010) Employees walked out of Sitel on Sycamore View, some of them knowing their days there are numbered.
The customer service outsourcing company announced it's slashing about 426-employees. That's more than half of the 775 people who work at the Northeast Memphis call center.
"Everybody is trying to make the best of the situation," says Maurice, an employee of more than two years.
He's also one of the people who'll lose his job .
"I'm dealing with it. It's a little hard you know because how things are going in society right now."
The national unemployment rate is now at 10 percent. Here in the Memphis area the latest figures came in slightly lower at 9.8 percent.
That's good news, but the job cuts keep coming.
Sam's Club announced this weekend its cutting 11,000 jobs nationwide.
Sitel first alerted its employees about the cuts on December 31st of last year, then again on Thursday.
Despite the warning, employees say they saw the axe coming.
After three months of job searching, Florence, a soon to be laid off mother of two, says she's giving-up her search for now.
"Right now it's kind of hard to find a job. So now's the time to finish school.
More than 260 of the people who'll lose their jobs were temporary employees.
We're told companies like Comcast, Dish TV and medical insurers outsourced their customer services to Sitel.
Though Maurice has been pocketing his checks and has months of savings stocked up, he's still got bills to pay. One of them, this recently purchased used car.
That's why the veteran call center representative is just hoping someone will call him soon with a job.
"I'm experienced. I have great customer service skills," he said laughing. "I'm open and intelligent and willing to do whatever; just a hard worker."
