International teleservices firm Sitel plans to shut down its Carroll operations on April 30, officials from the company's headquarters in Nashville, Tenn., confirmed.
"It is isolated to Carroll," said Andrew Kokes, marketing and public relations director for Sitel. "It's related to the contracts at the site coming to an end."
The shuttering is expected to affect 61 employees in Carroll, according to a filing with Iowa Workforce Development.
"Employees in Carroll are being encouraged to look at position options in our Atlantic office," Kokes said. "All of our employees always have the opportunity to post for open positions."
Kokes said there is little chance the Carroll office on Highway 71 North will be reopened.
"I've never said 'never,' but I don't have an indication as to it being open again," Kokes said.
Kokes declined to release any information about the companies involved with the expiring contracts or comment on whether the closing has anything at all to do with the flagging national economy.
Local Sitel employees said they could not comment on the closing and referred all questions to Kokes.
Carroll Area Development Corp. executive director Jim Gossett said Sitel's departure is obviously difficult for its many employees.
"It's tragic for the employees at Sitel," Gossett said. "Fortunately, in Carroll County, with our low unemployment rate, there are job openings."
For years, the Carroll Sitel consistently ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in monthly productivity when stacked up against similar-sized operations in the Sitel network.
Businesses, including ones with household names, outsource technical support, sales, collections and other work to Sitel.
Starting with 16 people in January of 1995, the Carroll site, which the Daily Times Herald featured for years in its annual Progress Edition, employed about 165 full- and part-time people.
Sitel, founded by James Lynch in 1985, originally focused on clients in the insurance and financial services industries. In past years, Sitel has acquired other companies, building its business base.
Sitel has 60,000 employees in 27 countries and more than 150 facilities throughout North America, South America, Europe and Asia Pacific. Employees deliver services in 36 languages.
