Customer service firm Sitel cutting 278 jobs at upstate New York call center

A company that provides customer service and support for other companies says it will lay off more than half of the 500 employees at its call center in New York's Southern Tier.

The Star-Gazette of Elmira reports (http://stargaz.tt/1zohOHR ) that Nashville, Tennessee-based Sitel has notified the state Department of Labor that it plans to cut 278 jobs at its operations in the Steuben (stoo-BEHN') County village of Painted Post, near the Pennsylvania border.

The notice says the jobs will be cut by April 30. The reason given for the cuts is "departure of a client campaign." No other information has been released.

Sitel began operations in 2008 at a former Corning Inc. facility in Painted Post. It laid off 300 workers in 2010, then hired 300 two years later.

Sitel's website says it has 58,000 workers in 23 countries.

___

Information from: Star-Gazette, http://www.stargazette.com