Dell closing Ottawa-area call centre at cost of 1,100 jobs

Dell Computers said Wednesday it is cutting about 1,100 jobs with the shutdown of an Ottawa-area call centre that opened just over two years ago.

The company confirmed to CBC News it has issued 500 layoffs notices, while the remaining workers will be let go in June and July.

The computer maker said approximately 100 employees will remain in Ottawa to support its sales division.

Dell said the customer support work performed at the centre in Kanata will be shifted to other locations.

"I guess Dell like everyone else is having some rough times with the competition and this is what it came down to …. In this industry, this is just par for the course," a laid-off employee named Tim told CBC News outside of the facility.

Dell spokesman Blair Patacairk said the decision to close the call centre was about cutting costs to stay competitive.

Dell originally announced back in August 2005 plans for a 500-employee call centre for Kanata. It opened in February 2006, and by May of that year, the Texas-based company had unveiled plans to triple employment at the facility.

Earlier this year, Dell laid off more than 100 people at the Kanata call centre and suspended plans for a second facility that would have employed another 1,000 people.

The Kanata closure follows the Jan. 31 announcement that Dell would shut its Edmonton call centre by May at a cost of 900 jobs.

"When they closed Edmonton, we were pretty sure that we were next," said computer technician Alex Rosenberg. "We just didn't know exactly when."