More than two years after moving to Tacoma, KeyBank’s nationwide call center near Hilltop will close this year. Two hundred employees are being laid off from the facility at 2420 S. State St.
Tom Spilman, KeyBank South Sound District president, spoke with the affected employees in meetings Tuesday. He explained that other call-center positions would be made available in Cleveland, where the bank has its headquarters, or in Buffalo, N.Y. Other positions may also be available in the Puget Sound area, he said.
“We anticipate all these employees will be employed through June, and perhaps through the end of the year,” Spilman said in an interview Tuesday morning. The layoffs “will be transparent to clients” and will not affect the bank’s 146 branches in the state.
“We have a ton of talented people there. We will assist them with employment with Key and elsewhere,” Spilman said.
One hundred and seventy other employees at the facility will maintain their jobs. These workers are engaged in such back-office functions as vault management and internal mail delivery.
The decision to close the center – a decision made in Cleveland – reflects a changing environment in banking, Spilman said. The volume of calls to the bank has decreased since the center opened in June 2006, as more clients have made use of online technology.
Over the past two years, the number of calls is down 12 percent.
“The volume starts to decrease,” Spilman said. “When you look at our efficiencies and volume, I think it’s the right decision. But it is painful.”
During the meetings with workers Tuesday morning, he said, “there was emotion in the room. We take the decision seriously.”
Ryan Petty, Tacoma’s director of Community and Economic Development, said Tuesday that he was sorry to hear of the layoffs.
“No layoff is good news,” he said. “For the individuals losing their jobs, it raises the challenge of the financial crisis our world is going through. Our hearts go out to them.”
He interprets the bank’s decision to close the center as part of a larger transition rather than a possible mark against the business climate in Tacoma.
“I think call centers have their own operational logic, their own economies,” he said. “It’s part of a global shuffling. I think it’s reflecting a trend in the financial industry. The industry need for call centers is shrinking.”
David Graybill, president and CEO of the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber, said Tuesday that “any job loss is a blow, but it is in keeping with the general cutbacks and transitions in the overall financial industry. It is very disappointing, but not totally surprising given the current nature of our current economic climate.”
The closure doesn’t portend further KeyBank cuts in the region, Spilman said. Key’s South Sound region employs 549 people, and the Seattle district 925. The bank has also made recent commitments to local branches, ordering major rehabilitation to branches in Shelton, Gig Harbor, Lakewood and Puyallup, as well as remodeling its downtown Tacoma regional headquarters.
“We continue to invest in our branches and our network,” Spilman said.
A news release from KeyBank said Tuesday that along with operating the call centers in Ohio and New York, the bank planned to “expand its relationship with a third-party, U.S.-based strategic partner.”
Anne Foster, KeyBank spokeswoman, said that although some call-center positions may be outsourced to that partner, none of the jobs would go overseas.
C.R. Roberts: 253-597-8535
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