Salisbury business closes call center in Maine

SALISBURY — Global Contact Services, headquartered in Salisbury, closed a call center Friday in Pittsfield, Maine, and laid off 65 people.

The closure came “in response to a major client’s sudden decision to suspend services,” George Simons, vice president of marketing for Global Contact Services, said in a press release.

“This unfortunate action is not a reflection of the performance of GCS as a company, nor due to any action of our associates,” Simons said. “The client made an abrupt decision to cease work and gave us no warning or time to replace the business in the center.”

The call center closed in one day.

Global Contact Services had been pleased with the company’s experience in Pittsfield since opening in 2008, Simons said.

“The hardest part of such a decision is always the effect it has on our dedicated employees and the community,” he said. “Contact center jobs provide fulfilling work for many good people and communities like Pittsfield.

“We continue to look for long-term growth as an outsource provider of business services for our clients. It is our objective to remain on track opening centers, not closing them.”

Greg Alcorn founded GCS, which operates about a dozen call centers in the U.S. and the Philippines, 10 years ago. The company had its best financial years in 2009 and 2010, Alcorn said in July, by playing offense.

GCS provides services to major corporations such as Chartis, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Valero Energy, JP Morgan Chase, HSBC and others.

Contact reporter Emily Ford at 704-797-4264.