As many as 130 people could be out of work when the Sykes call centre in Sydney closes its doors in January.
After 16 years in operation, the call centre announced the closure Tuesday. Sykes Incorporated, which has operated the call centre for the past four years, is citing market conditions as the reason for the closure.
“When we see different things pop up on our radar, that indicates we’re not in our best place,” said Andrea Burnett-Thomas, the company’s director of communications. “Then that sometimes leads to decisions like this.”
She declined to comment further on the matter.
While the doors of one call centre are set to close, another call centre across town is in the middle of a major hire.
Todd Riley, the director of the ServiCom call centre, said the industry has been facing competition for workers for years, with many potential employees moving out west.
“There is always going to be that challenge,” said Riley. “Right now we just ended up getting some additional work with some of our core programs…and we’re looking for another 70 bodies right now.”
The executive director of the Sydney and Area Chamber of Commerce said Convergys is hiring more than 200 people at its call centre in Glace Bay.
“We may have a bit of a shift of some of those employees into that marketplace, but it would have been better if we had been able to add 200 additional jobs in addition to Sykes’ 130 jobs,” said Adrian White.
What was once one of the fastest-growing job sectors in the Maritimes has become somewhat unstable, but Riley insists the challenges facing the industry can be conquered.
“It can be overcome with the right strategic planning. How to combat the issues at hand, again, it’s talking to people and seeing what makes them want to come to work,” said Riley.
Sykes said some employees may be able to stay on with the company, if they can arrange to work from home.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Ryan MacDonald
