Spiegel gives notice of layoffs (100 jobs)

[UpInArms]

http://www.dailypress.com/business/local/dp-52872sy0jul30,0,1828011.story?coll=dp-business-localheads

HAMPTON -- Spiegel Group TeleServices gave a 60-day layoff notice to more than 100 of its Hampton workers Thursday, and two Canadian call centers assisting the company's catalog sales are preparing to pick up the workload by year's end, a Spiegel spokeswoman said Thursday.

Spokeswoman Debbie Koopman said the Hampton employees were told Thursday that their last day of work would be Sept. 30. She said that as employees were terminated from the Hampton call center, sales and customer service would shift to two call centers in Saint John and New Waterford, Canada.

"We had a network of call centers that serviced the group," Koopman said. "The Hampton jobs are being eliminated, and the work is being assumed by existing call centers in Canada."

She said that catalog orders and customer service for Eddie Bauer would be taken from a call center in Saint John and that orders for Newport News Inc. and Spiegel Catalog would be taken from a center in New Waterford.

Employees of the Hampton call center were notified of the pending layoffs last week, and employees in the first of three waves of layoffs were informed Thursday that their last day would be Sept. 30, several workers confirmed. Two more waves of layoffs are expected by the end of December.

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