It's unclear how the closure of West Corp.'s Bryan call center will affect the company's contract with the Research Valley Partnership, officials said Tuesday.
The company will lay off 260 people and close its University Drive campus May 15, employees were told Tuesday morning.
"Over the past several months, we have experienced a decrease in our call volume for the client we serve in that center," said David Pleiss, vice president of investor and public relations for the Omaha, Neb.-based company. "So the downturn in business combined with our lease expiring this fall just made this a good decision."
The company came to Bryan in late 2005 after being lured by the Research Valley Partnership with an incentives package valued at more than $500,000 -- $250,000 came from the RVP.
As part of the agreement, West Corp. was required to maintain a $15 million payroll and bring in $3 million in new investments over several years, said Todd McDaniel, chief executive of the RVP.
"We have legal agreements that require a certain performance and the reimbursement of incentives in the event of default," he said. "We're going to do our job and take the necessary steps. Certainly one option is to request the reimbursement of incentives, which is generally what we do."
Over the past four years, McDaniel said, the company paid out $51 million in payroll and brought in more than $4 million in investments.
Pleiss said all employees of West Corp. have been encouraged to apply for a program called West at Home, which allows employees to essentially do the same job they would in the call center from their homes.
It's possible that all 260 employees could find work through the program, he said.
The announcement isn't an indication of a weakened local economy, Bryan-College Station Chamber of Commerce President Royce Hickman, but a reflection of a weakened national economy.
"What happens is these national companies that operate outside of the Bryan-College Station area are being impacted by the economy much more than we are locally," he said, referencing the recent closures of Circuit City and Linens 'n Things. "But they have to make cuts to consolidate their businesses."
The Chamber is hosting a job fair April 13 at the College Station Hilton from 2 p.m. until 6 p.m., he said, which could provide help to soon-to-be former West Corp. employees.
In June, the company announced 160 employees would be laid off by August after losing an account with American Express.
McDaniel said the closure comes after West Corp. received word from another client, Dish Network, that it would no longer be needing the Bryan call center's services.
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