LAKELAND, July 13, 2012 -- A call center expected to bring 600 new jobs to Lakeland has lowered the number of higher-paying positions it expects to bring from 127 to 40.

The 40 new jobs at Tampa-based Sykes Enterprises will pay an average wage of $35,243, which is about 115 percent of the average annual wage and qualifies the company for incentives. In April, the company had told city officials that 127 higher paying jobs were coming to the city.

Sykes' 92,000-square-foot call center will be located at the former FedEx National LTL facility on Griffin Road and is expected to begin operating this year.

Andrea Thomas, a spokeswoman with Sykes, said Thursday that she was unaware of the lower number of higher-paying jobs at the call center. She said that the company is still expected to bring 600 jobs to the area.

Jim Studiale, director of community development for the city, said the company made revisions soon after the first vote by commissioners.

"These estimates are generally very fluid at the early stages of locating these companies," Studiale said in an e-mail on Thursday.

In April, city commissioners voted to provide $76,000 over four years in tax incentives for training if the 127 jobs were created.

Those incentives have now been reduced because of the lower number of jobs.

Commissioners will vote at 9 a.m. on Monday during a meeting to provide $24,000 in tax incentives over six years, according to documents.

The company already employs about 400 people in Lakeland at a call center on North Lake Parker Avenue.

Posted by Veronica Silva Cusi, news correspondent
Source: http://www.theledger.com