Verizon Wireless invests in IT, call centers

After recently saying it would open a new $29 million call center in North Carolina, Verizon Wireless has announced an additional investment of more than $10 million to expand an existing information technology center in Orangeburg, N.Y.

Since 1991, the facility has been one of three IT operations centers for the carrier. It also has served as the company’s regional headquarters for New York Metro operations. The new investment comes just a year after the most recent expansion of that facility was completed.

Verizon Wireless also announced it will relocate customer service and customer financial services jobs currently located at the Orangeburg facility and another building in Morristown, N.J., to two new call centers. One of the new centers is the previously mentioned office in Wilmington, N.C., which will staff up to 1200 employees. Details surrounding the second call center will be announced later this year, but it will be located in the U.S., the company said.

Employees affected by this relocation are eligible for a $10,000, after-tax, lump sum incentive to relocate or pursue other positions within Verizon Wireless.

When fully staffed, the two new centers will generate a net gain of customer service jobs serving customers from Maine to Virginia, and will reduce the company's reliance on outsourcing, according to a statement from Verizon Wireless.

North Carolina state officials approved $10 million in incentives for Verizon Wireless to build its customer service center in Wilmington, according to Eileen Creeden, vice president of customer service for the Northeast region at Verizon Wireless.

The company also said it is expanding other call centers in the Northeast, which will result in more than 300 jobs in upstate New York, Connecticut and Maryland. Additionally, the carrier will place another 300 customer service positions this year at a $20-million sales and customer service complex in Arizona.

Elsewhere, about 600 positions will be added at Verizon Wireless’ Salt Lake City customer service center this year, and more than 1000 employees will be hired in its Murfreesboro, Tenn., call center, which is dedicated to local number portability transactions.

Last year, the company expanded its customer service operations nationwide by 1600 employees.