Cable provider Comcast is closing its call center in Marana and consolidating those operations in its offices in Salt Lake City over the next two months, a company official said Wednesday.
Comcast would not say how many employees would be affected by the call center's closure. But it notified the state that layoffs would begin on Oct. 12 and affect 64 people, said Kevan Kaighn, a spokeswoman for Arizona Department of Economic Security.
The call center at 8251 N. Cortaro Road handles customer calls from Tucson and New Mexico for sales, billing inquiries and any service problems, Comcast spokeswoman Kelle Maslyn said.
Cable technicians, along with marketing and management teams, will remain in Tucson, Maslyn said. The company will continue to operate a counter where customers can start services and get other assistance.
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Comcast — which has about 80,000 customers in the Tucson area, generally located outside Tucson's city limits — obtained the call center after acquiring a controlling interest of Jones Intercable Inc. in 1999.
Comcast is working with employees at the call center to find them jobs at other Comcast locations across the nation, or helping them find jobs in Tucson if they don't want to move, Maslyn said.
Jim Mize, of Pima County's One Stop career center, said his office had been notified of the call-center closure. He said that if employees want to stay in the call-service industry, there are jobs available.
"As it stands right now, particularly if you're bilingual, we still have a fairly significant number of openings in the call-center business," Mize said.
More than 12,000 people are employed at 32 Tucson-area call centers, according to Tucson Regional Opportunities Inc., a local economic-development agency.