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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Officials Will Try To Help Victims Of Bank Layoffs

Officials at the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley are planning to meet with Washington Mutual executives in the coming weeks to try to help as many of the bank’s 1,000 soon-to-be-laid-off call center employees find jobs locally. Kenn Phillips, the Director of Workforce Development for the Alliance which coordinates training in the Valley for call center employees, said the organization is discussing the future of that training program in light of recent layoffs, but hasn’t made any decisions yet. In the meantime, he’s waiting for specific information about how many people will be looking for local jobs as a result of the bank’s layoffs. “We’re anticipating that some folks will be retiring, some folks will find other jobs by leaving the area,” Phillips said. “We expect that about 800 people will be looking for jobs.” Washington Mutual Inc. has told 1,000 of its Chatsworth call-center workers that their jobs will be moved to San Antonio and Costa Rica, in an attempt to cut costs. The positions will start to be phased out in two months, with some employees being offered work at a new center in San Antonio, where most of the jobs are being moved. Some of the others will be offered job-search assistance. An additional 2,000 Washington Mutual employees will remain in Chatsworth at an office complex that once housed the headquarters of Great Western Financial Corp, which Washington Mutual acquired in 1997. Bruce Ackerman, CEO of the Valley Economic Alliance, was dismayed but not surprised about Washington Mutual’s decision. “We’re obviously disappointed in their decision, but I understand it from a corporate standpoint. These are some of the lowest paying jobs they offer and when they can get the same basic tasks completed at less of a cost, they will,” Ackerman said. “Unfortunately, the cost of doing business in California helps to create this problem. I’m not happy about it, but I’m a realist and I know that there’s not a lot we can do about it. They’re following the trend Countrywide started a few years back.” Phillips said that although some companies are finding it more economical to move call center jobs out of California, not every company will do so. He said he’ll be contacting the larger businesses on the Alliance’s list of partners to see if they can hire any of the displaced Washington Mutual call center employees. “How many people know about those 1,000 (at Washington Mutual), and how many people know that there are even more at Countrywide, and those positions are embedded in the core competency of the business?” Phillips said. Phillips said that companies like Health Net, Sears and the Automobile Club of Southern California won’t all move their call centers out of the area, and some may be able to absorb Washington Mutual employees.

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