Owen Sound Mayor Deb Haswell is surprised by the news that Transcom is closing it’s call centre in the Scenic City.
She tells Bayshore Broadcasting News Economic Development Officer Steve Furness has been in regular contact with company officials and had no inkling that the firm was about to shut down.
Transcom told its’ 132 employees on Thursday that the Call Centre would be closed by mid-September.
It deals with technical support, customer transactions and processing, mainly for a U-S client.
Although the company points to the high Canadian dollar as one reason for the closure, an email from a Transcom employee to Bayshore Broadcasting News claims the company is moving work to Louisiana.
The email also says Transcom has announced the closing of at least three call centres recently, Owen Sound, one in New Brunswick and a third in Montreal.
Mayor Haswell doesn’t buy the high dollar either, as a reason for closing the Owen Sound plant.
Employees are not being offered positions elsewhere, as the closest Transcom call centre would be in St. Catherine’s.
