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E-Trade to close its call center: 500 jobs will be relocated when the Rancho Cordova facility shuts at the end of August.(Sacramento Bee, The (CA) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) May 19--Online brokerage giant E-Trade Financial Corp. will close its Rancho Cordova operations at the end of August, relocating some 500 jobs, mostly call center positions. Company spokeswoman Connie Dotson said Thursday the jobs will be spread among six other E-Trade call centers around the United States, including those formerly operated by brokerages BrownCo. and Harrisdirect, both of which E-Trade acquired last year for a combined $2.3 billion. In a region considered a mini-hub for company call center operations, economic development officials say E-Trade's departure is unfortunate but at least two new call center operations are considering moving into the market. Dotson said E-Trade officials weighed numerous factors, which she declined to specify, before making the decision to relocate. "It's about the acquisitions ... and efficiency and consolidations," Dotson said. "The people here are phenomenal. This move has nothing to do with this team." She said some employees will be offered transfers to other locations, including Salt Lake City and Charlotte, N.C. All those laid off will be given a financial package pegged to length of employment, with at least a month of severance pay. A pioneer in online stock trading, New York-based E-Trade was founded in 1982 and opened its Rancho Cordova operations a decade ago as a data storage center and a call center. It quickly grew from 50 employees to more than 500, including accounting specialists, software experts and licensed securities brokers. "They employed a lot of folks in the region and their loss is one that will be felt," said Barbara Hayes, executive director of the Sacramento Area Commerce and Trade Organization. However, two other call centers are considering moving into the region, Hayes said. Both companies, which she declined to identify, are seeking an existing call center facility that would allow them to move in and began operations immediately. "We're working very hard to make that happen," she said. One of the two has indicated it would hire more than 500 workers, and the other would hire about 250, she said. E-Trade was one of a number of companies that rushed to set up call center operations in the Sacramento region during the 1990s, Hayes said. With its seismic stability, well-trained work force and plentiful fiber optic lines to handle telecommunications needs, the area attracted such companies as Franklin Templeton Investments, Apple Computer and Electronic Data Systems Corp., all of which retain operations here. SACTO estimated in 1999 that call centers employed some 12,000 in the area. But the technology bust earlier this decade, plus outsourcing and other factors have shrunk the industry here, Hayes said. In recent years, such companies as EarthLink Inc. and Providian Financial Corp. have shut their call center operations in the area, laying off hundreds. But others such as Bank of America Corp., the California State Automobile Association and Comcast Corp. still have significant call-center operations in the region. The laid-off workers at E-Trade will likely be able to find new jobs relatively easily, said David Lyons, a labor market consultant with the California Employment Development Department. He said many have developed skills transferrable to the region's financial services sector. "And I'm sure they will have opportunities at other call centers," he said, becausesuch centers "have relatively high turnover." |