Posted on 03/17/2009 3:19:24 AM PDT by posterchild
TAMPA, Florida (AFP) – A Florida-based firm will soon close one of its North Dakota offices for a reason that seems unfathomable during the deepening US recession: it can't find enough employees to hire.
Sykes Enterprises, which specializes in creating and maintaining computer customer care services for corporations, opened a telephone call center in Minot, North Dakota in 1996. Last May, management wanted to increase the number of employees to 450.
Yet an unexpected thing happened: so few people applied for the Minot jobs that the Tampa-headquartered company will have to close the call center on May 10 -- a cutback by Sykes that will result in 200 people losing their jobs.
"We've been working for several months there (in Minot) to find enough applicants for the work, since we have been experiencing significant growth in the US," said Sykes spokeswoman Andrea Burnett.
She also told AFP that Sykes advertised for many months in the local Minot electronic and press media for applicants.
The state of North Dakota has bucked the national trend which has seen the US economy hemorrhage 651,000 jobs in February, pushing the unemployment rate to a 25-year high of 8.1 percent and pointing to an ever-deepening recession.
But the unemployment rate in North Dakota stood at just 5.1 percent, one of the lowest in the nation.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
A Filipino call center worker from the Florida, US-based Sykes Enterprises works in front of her terminal in suburban Manila in 2005. The Florida-based firm will soon close one of its North Dakota offices for a reason that seems unfathomable during the deepening US recession: it can't find enough employees to hire. (AFP/File/Joel Nito)
Well, to be honest, it is in Minot, ND. Thats not exactly a hot spot on most peoples job re-location list.
I know I turned down a very good job offer once because of its location in a similar area.
If there are 40K people in Minot, and if it mirrors the state with 5.1% unemployment, then there should be 2040 people in Minot who are unemployed.
Still seems odd that they will close down just because they cannot supplement their 200 with another 250. (If filling their current building is the issue, they aren’t going to make it easier by moving cities.)
Or you can go to any one of other countries in the world
See ... no need to be bitchin about Sykes ... get on board!
Who is ‘bitchin’ about Sykes?
Call centers have extremely high turnover rates. I wouldn’t doubt they had enough people to staff it when first opened, but the local population probably can’t support the high turnover. Was the company expecting people all over the U.S. to pick up and move to Minot (or anywhere else for that matter) just for the chance to work in a call center?
So why don’t they MOVE the location? Something doesn’t smell right here.
Probably the 200 people who are going to be out of a telemarketing job at Sykes in Minot? Just a wild guess.
Perhaps some might miss it, but if the estimated 2000 others calling themselves ‘unemployed’ don’t seem to be interested (though perhaps many of that 2K are former employees or not desired by Sykes for various reasons) there are probably other opportunities in town for those 200 who will lose their jobs.
I absolutely don’t believe them. This is bogus more H1B visa time for these liars.
DUH!!!
I remember talking to an old SAC Colonel about Minot.
The saying goes:
“Why not Minot? FREEZIN’s the REASON!”
My father had a friend who ended up a general in SAC. He went to swell places like Rapid City, SD, and Minot. The family got into dogsledding.
Yet it keeps three major call centers going there. My daughter works at one of them and would like to get more hours but can't. I'm sure there are other towns in America in similar situations. Possibly even in the Dakotas.
Perhaps they should try paying a market wage?
Perhaps they should try paying a market wage?
I was just assuming they were given that they were looking at an alternative that seemed more expensive (moving).
Someone famous (but cannot remember who) said ‘there are no shortages nor surpluses, only price.’
I almost went to Minot, during my military service.
I received reassignment orders to go there after a year of remote duty in Campion AFS (middle of Alaska).
As I commiserated over a beer at the club (and heard that saying numerous times), a seasoned Sergeant heard my sad story and informed me that since I was currently in a remote assignment, along with two semi-isolated previous assignments, the Air Force wasn't supposed to send me to yet another semi-isolated/remote location.
Not only was he seasoned, he was an administrative Sergeant, and he lead me through the process of requesting a reassignment based on those facts. In three weeks, I had a reassignment to Tampa Florida.
Needless to say, he had a standing invitation to all the free beer/drinks (on me) for the remainder of my tour in Alaska.
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