Duluth's Qwest directory assistance work force is expected to double in coming months as the company consolidates its operator and information services nationwide.
Qwest spokeswoman Joanna Hjelmeland said the call center will gain 50 jobs with the consolidation. Qwest currently employs about 200 people in Duluth.
Terri Newman, president of Communication Workers of America Local 7214, which represents Qwest workers in Duluth, said the local call center has about 50 directory assistance operators.
The company will reduce its operator and information services call centers during the next few months from eight to four: Duluth; Pueblo, Colo.; Midvale, Utah; and Waterloo, Iowa.
The Albuquerque, N.M.; Colorado Springs, Colo.; Fargo, N.D.; and Sioux Falls, S.D. operations will close in what Hjelmeland said was an "efficiency move." The number of calls coming into the Qwest call centers has been falling for some time, Newman said.
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Duluth and the other centers that are expanding will see some colleagues from the other locations move into those positions.
Some of the jobs will probably be filled through new hires, Newman said. Wages for new workers will range from $8.30 per hour with benefits to start to $11 an hour. "In an outstate environment these are very good jobs," Newman said.
The move to close some centers was expected, she said. During labor negotiations last fall, the company said it would happen at some time in the future. "They've now made a business decision that half of the offices will close," she said.
Denver-based Qwest is a voice, video and data services provider with operations in 14 states about 37,000 employees.
