Verizon Communications is making massive job cuts in order to consolidate operations and reduce labor costs. Earlier this month, they announced that they would be closing the Calkins Road call center in Henrietta by January 27, putting roughly 600 people out of work.
“It’s corporate greed at its worst,” said Chris Shelton, president of the Communications Workers of America. “Verizon Communications brags about being the nation’s biggest wireless carrier. It’s an extremely profitable company.”
If Verizon really is so profitable, then why is it getting rid of so many jobs across the country? Overall, the telecommunications giant plans to close call centers in Maine, Nebraska, California, and New York, cutting 3,200 jobs nationwide. Verizon also announced that is will be downsizing and combining jobs at its retail stores as well. This has been common as more and more answering services have been launched nationally.
Verizon has reported that its wireless business has slowed recently. During the last quarter, the company revealed a 2.4% decline in wireless revenues and a 5.3% decline in overall revenues.
“For a long time everybody was getting a cell phone,” said George T. Conboy of Brighton Securities. “Kids were getting cell phones. People’s pets were getting cell phones. Now, everybody’s goldfish has a cell phone. We don’t need any more goldfish with cell phones.”
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It’s true. In 2006, only 2 billion people had cell phones. Now, there are roughly 6 billion cell phone users across the globe. Growth is starting to taper off, causing wireless companies like Verizon to search for new sources of revenue.
Spokesperson Kim Ancin has said that the company will be offering local employees the opportunity to relocate to other Verizon sites in Ohio, Georgia, Arizona, New Mexico, Arkansas, or the Carolinas. Those who choose to move will be reimbursed for travel costs, and those who do not relocate will be given a severance package.
Rich Azzopardi, a spokesperson for Governor Cuomo called Verizon’s actions “reckless.”
“This is an egregious example of corporate abuse – among the worst we have witnessed during the six years of this administration,” he said in a press release. “Verizon’s negligence is astounding and as a result, hard-working New Yorkers will lose their jobs.”
The Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce announced that it plans to help local workers find new jobs. People in the Rochester area and elsewhere in the U.S. are struggling because, over the past 12 years, the rise in the cost of living has outpaced national income growth.
“In many places, a loss of 600 jobs is like a tree falling in the forest,” said Chamber President and CEO Robert Duffy. “In upstate New York and the Finger Lakes region it is like a tree falling on your house.”
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