The OEM has cut 468 jobs at a call centre in Houston.
Your Houston News reported on the layoffs in Houston, which are “as a result of a change in business conditions” for one of Xerox’s clients. A Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act letter was filed on 1 August with the Texas Workforce Commission, stating that the job cuts will be effective as of 30 September.
The workers at the Xerox Commercial Solutions site, working on behalf of Sprint Customer Care, were informed on 1 August about the layoffs, with 850 other employees currently still working for Xerox in Houston as part of 7,000 across Texas. In 2012, 2,200 staff worked for Xerox in Houston, with a fall of 1,350 staff in two years. 81 employees had been laid off last year at another call centre in the city.
Kevin Lightfoot, Vice President of Corporate Communications at Xerox, stated that “these reductions, while very difficult decisions, reflect the changing business requirements of a single client […] this was based on a client’s changing business requirements”. Noting that the company wil continue to have a presence in Houston, Lightfoot confirmed that separation packages “will be provided to those who qualify”, and employees can apply for other vacancies.
He added: “The changing demands of Xerox’s clients produce cycles of hiring. We continue to hire new employees in many locations and will continue to hire in Houston to meet the needs of other clients.”
In May 2013, Xerox cut 300 jobs in two call centres in Oregon, and in October 2013, it cut 500 jobs at a call centre in North Carolina.