Binghamton call center closing in March

CNY Business Journal (1996+), Jan 25, 2002 by Kropf, Annemarie

BINGHAMTON - The ides of March will spell the end of TeleSpectrum Worldwide Inc.'s (OTC BB:TLSP.OB) local facility. The teleservices center's last day of operations will be March 15.

"If you've been following the history of the company, it's been suffering from the plight of the economy," says Michael Cleveland, contact call manager at the facility in Glendale Technology Park. "We've had some cutbacks over the last year."

TeleSpectrum, a Pennsylvania-based company, provides some traditional telemarketing services, such as business-to-consumer and business-to-business teleservices, to clients. Cleveland says this makes up 20 percent of business, while the rest is done through inbound customer service, which he explains by saying, "We are contracted by major clients and we handle calls from customers."

From mid-2001, the company has felt the effects of the economic downturn facing other businesses, Cleveland says. He adds that the events of Sept. 11 had a significant impact, since many clients were located in downtown Manhattan.

"We're a service provider, an outsource provider," he points out. "As clients scale back their operations, it trickles down to us. Companies don't outsource when they are worried about internal operations."

More than 200 employees will lose their jobs in March, but Cleveland says there may be some transfer opportunities available. "The economy is trying to come back," he says. Depending on what positions are available at other TeleSpectrum facilities, the Binghamton operation will try to place them.

Cleveland says that he is showing the facility to other telemarketing/teleservices businesses that may be able to take over the building and use the equipment.

TeleSpectrum moved into the facility in 1997. When the company started, the Binghamton operation employed 200 people. This number increased to 500 employees during 1998 through early 2000. However, the third quarter of 2001 showed that the company was heading for trouble.

The company reported a net loss of $9.2 million in the third quarter. For the same period in 2000, the company lost $8.7 million. The closing of four call centers added $2.5 million of restructuring expenses to the 2001 loss.

Cleveland says that he knew the company was slowing down, but the decision to close the facility still came as a bit of a surprise.

"We're victims of the last reorganization," he says.