Charter to close Worcester call center, 174 jobs to be lost

• Posted by Mark Henderson Mar 27 - Filed in News - #Spectrum  #Charter Communications  #Higgins Street  #Spectrum News 1  - 10,114 views

  

  (The story has been updated with comments from the city of Worcester and Charter Communications, as well as the date of the closing and exact number of jobs lost.)

  Charter Communications is closing its customer service call center in Worcester, resulting in the loss of 174 jobs in the city, according to a document filed with the state.

  The company that offers Spectrum cable TV and internet service in Worcester and surrounding towns will retain its operations staff as well as its Spectrum News 1 staff in the city, sources told The 016. Charter anticipates the center will close on June 26th.

  Impacted employees were notified Wednesday. The city was also  made aware of the closing on Wednesday, according to Media and Public Relations Manager Tom Matthews, who noted that the closing was not in conflict with the city's contract with Charter.

  In a statement sent Thursday morning, Charter wrote: "We are transitioning the work done at our Worcester, MA call center to other centers, effective June 26, 2025. We have elected to transition this work to our other U.S.-based Call centers, where we can deliver information, training, and technology to our representatives more efficiently.

  "Employees have the option to relocate and transition in their current role to select alternative existing customer service locations and are eligible to receive relocation benefits," the statement continues. "In addition, impacted employees can apply for another role with the company for which they are qualified. Any employee who does not have a new position by June 26th will be eligible for comprehensive severance benefits."

  Under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (W.A.R.N.) Act, the loss of 100 or more jobs requires employers to provide notification 60 days ahead of planned closings and mass layoffs.

  Charter notified the Commonwealth's Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development on Wednesday. 

  The layoffs come less than a year after Charter announced the closing of call centers in 6 states, ctsinsider reported in July 2024. It also comes in the same week that Charter will also close a call center in Akron, Ohio, according to a story in the Beacon Journal. The state of Ohio was notified of that closure on January 22nd.

  The call center closing comes as the city of Worcester is in continued negotiations with Charter over a new cable contract.

  In May 2024, City Manager Eric Batista said the city would continue to negotiate with Charter. The announcement came over the objections of a unanimous Cable Advisory Committee vote against renewing the deal.

  "I appreciate the work of the advisory committee and their recommendations when it comes to the license agreement, however in addition to their recommendations, I must consider the options the City has, as well as federal and state regulations when it comes to cable providers," Batista wrote on his personal Substack.

  A Charter spokesperson said at the time, "We are committed to continuing to provide Worcester residents with the best connectivity services backed by our local teams of technicians and 100% in-house, U.S.-based customer service," according to an article on MassLive.

  (Check back for more on this developing story.)