Mar 6, 2013 -- Comcast is shutting down its call center in Augusta.

The nationwide cable and internet company filed a mass layoff Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification on Monday with the Georgia Department of Labor.

The notice said the layoffs would begin between May 3 and May 16.

Though the notice said 79 employees will be affected, Shannon Dulin, senior manager of government and regulatory affairs, said the actual number is 68.

The notice doesn’t specify why the layoffs will occur. But Dulin said the call handling for repair and billing will be moved to other Comcast customers centers.

"That is part of our ongoing effort to provide more specialized customer support," Dulin said.

In 2001, Comcast opened its River Shoals Drive office to accommodate its entire Augusta operation, which had been spread around to four different facilities. The call center was previously in Daniel Village.

There are 244 employees at the facility, but only the call center employees are affected, Dulin said.

"We’re not reducing employment numbers in the region. We’re encouraging employees to apply for other open jobs," Dulin said.

Comcast has 3,600 employees in Georgia and has a regional headquarters in Atlanta.

"We will be working with each of our displaced employees to consider them for other positions," Dulin wrote in the mass layoff letter. "If affected employees do not successfully transfer to another job within Comcast, they may be entitled to severance benefits."

Posted by Veronica Silva Cusi, news correspondent
Source: http://chronicle.augusta.com