Cox Communications will close the doors on some of the smaller call centers across its footprint in order to centralize operations into seven large call centers.
Streamlining its call center operations could lead to a 3 percent cut, or roughly 436 employees, in Cox’s overall work force, but some of those laid off employees could migrate to the larger call centers, or apply for open positions in other Cox departments within their current markets.
A spokesman for Cox confirmed that the company would offer some of the affected call center employees relocation packages worth $15,000. Most of the call center changes will take place this year. Cox notified its employees about the changes yesterday.
The seven large call centers, which Cox calls “Centers of Excellence, will be located in Baton Rouge, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Wichita, Kan., and Hampton Roads, Va.
“Like all businesses, Cox will continue to evolve its operations to best meet customers’ needs in an increasingly competitive marketplace,” Cox wrote in a statement. “As part of those ongoing efforts, residential call center services will be centralized into fewer, best-in-class centers designed to improve the customer experience, optimize the organization’s effectiveness and increase its competitive readiness.”
Centralizing operations has been an ongoing trend for cable operators. Two years ago, Cox cut its systems from nine to seven, which included combining its Louisiana and Florida/Georgia properties.
