Cuomo Slams Verizon After New York Call Center Closures Affect 3,200 Jobs
The New York State administration railed at Verizon Wireless after the company closed call centers in New York City and Rochester. The company also closed five other centers in Maine, Nebraska, Connecticut and California, affecting 3,200 employees, a Verizon spokeswoman…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
said. “This is an egregious example of corporate abuse -- among the worst we have witnessed during the six years of this administration,” said a spokesman for Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D). “Verizon’s negligence is astounding and as a result, hard-working New Yorkers will lose their jobs.” Cuomo directed the state Department of Labor to assist employees, while the governor’s office tries to “reverse the impact of Verizon’s reckless decision,” the spokesman said. Communications Workers of America President Chris Shelton vowed to “keep up the fight” against Verizon. “It’s corporate greed at its worst,” he said. Verizon will ask affected employees to seek other positions within the company, relocate with $10,000 in company assistance to similar positions in other call centers, or accept a severance package, the Verizon spokeswoman emailed. “The key driver behind this decision is to realign our real estate portfolio and Customer Service operations to make the best use of extra capacity in the remaining locations. … This was a very difficult but necessary business decision.” Verizon will give affected employees two paid days off and reimburse travel expenses up to $500 to visit other call center sites, she said.