TeleTech job cuts begin in mass layoff

By Joe Goldeen

Record Staff Writer

April 17, 2008 6:00 AM

STOCKTON - More than 200 employees at TeleTech in Stockton were told last week their jobs will be eliminated after one of the Colorado-based outsourcing company's corporate clients reduced its customer service needs.

The first wave of 46 employees will be laid off at the end of this week. They were either not full-time workers or had worked for less than six months at TeleTech, 6221 N. West Lane.

The next wave will come June 13, when 50 employees will work their last day. Four more waves will follow, ending Sept. 26, when the last wave will be let go for a total of 226 employees. Ten of that total are operations supervisors at the management level.

If the company is unable to pick up a new contract for work this summer, TeleTech in Stockton will be left with 150 employees. Employees primarily serve as customer service representatives for large corporations, answering phone inquiries from those corporations' customers.

The company does not talk about its clients, but employees have said they most recently fielded customer service calls for United Healthcare, particularly its Medicare insurance plans.

TeleTech spokeswoman K.C. Higgins said it's normal for the global company to experience rapid changes in employment levels at individual sites based on its corporate clients' needs. She remained optimistic about a new contract.

"I'm feeling really good about our ability to put work in (Stockton). This is part of the ebb and flow of our business. This is never a situation we like to be in. We are committed to Stockton and doing everything we can to find work for those people. It's a great staff there, and we would love to keep them," Higgins said from her office in Englewood, Colo.

Brittany Duncan, 22, of Stockton started answering customer calls at TeleTech in September 2006 and will be part of this summer's layoff. She expressed disappointment about having to find a new job but hasn't been pleased with the work environment at TeleTech either.

"I started at about $10 an hour, went up to $14 and then went back to $10 last April. We all had to take an involuntary pay cut. I just bought a house, so it's sink or swim at this point. But I haven't seen anything locally that's similar to this kind of work," Duncan said. "It sucks."

Contact reporter Joe Goldeen at (209) 546-8278 or jgoldeen@recordnet.com.