Metro One to shut down call center, lay off 200

Metro One Telecommunications Inc. will shut down its Orlando call center and lay off 200 employees by May 20 as part of its exit from the wholesale directory assistance business.
Metro One (NASDAQ:INFO) will be shutting down its call centers in Orlando, Minneapolis, Charlotte, and Honolulu and layoff a total of 600 employees, who will receive severance packages based on their length of service.
The moves are expected to cost the company $3.6 million.
In addition, the company also will reduce the size of its headquarters staff in Beaverton, Ore., leaving it with 70 workers.
Metro One previously closed call centers in Long Island, N.Y., and Portland, Ore.
The Oregon-based company says it's getting out of the directory assistance business due to a lack of customers willing to pay enough to cover expenses and generate a return for shareholders. Metro One Telecommunications, which is an information services provider, says it will focus on its data and contact services business.
This isn't the first contraction for the company, which eliminated more than 2,000 workers between 2005 and 2006, when it consolidated 25 call centers into six locations.