Spectrum to shut down Rochester call center, hundreds of local jobs at risk
NEW YORK, UNITED STATES — Cable and internet provider Spectrum announced plans to permanently close its customer service call center in Rochester, New York.
The closure, set to take effect on August 15, puts potentially hundreds of local jobs at risk.
Surprise announcement shocks employees
The news first came to light when a former Spectrum employee contacted the Post Bulletin, revealing that company leaders had made the surprise announcement to workers earlier that day.
Spectrum spokesperson Jay Saunders later confirmed the planned closure in a statement.
“Spectrum continues to invest in its network, technology, and employees to deliver an exceptional customer experience,” Saunders wrote. “As part of that change, customer service call center operations in Rochester will be transitioned to other in-house U.S.-based centers.”
Up to 300 jobs potentially impacted
While declining to provide an exact headcount, Saunders stated that the “final tally on job losses will be defined over the next two months, as we hope to retain as many of our talented and experienced employees as possible in other roles here in Rochester or through relocation to other Spectrum customer service centers.”
However, estimates from insiders suggest the Rochester facility’s workforce currently stands between 200 and 300 employees. This is a significant drop from the 500 employees previously reported at the site in 2014.
Broader downsizing trend in Rochester
Spectrum’s call center closure is the latest in a string of workforce reductions in the Rochester area over recent years.
In June 2023, the company cut 60 positions from its former Rochester Technology Campus. Additionally, Spectrum eliminated its separate Rochester business-to-business call center in 2019, impacting an estimated 200 workers at the time.
As recently as 2023, Saunders stated that over 60% of Spectrum’s 900 Minnesota employees were based in Rochester across multiple sites. However, the telecommunications giant has steadily downsized its local presence from a peak of 1,200 employees in 2017.
