Call center in Hilo to close (4th largest employer)

[The Sushi Bandit]

http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2004/Mar/26/bz/bz02a.html

A major call center that was hailed as a solution to Hilo's chronic job shortage when it opened in 1999 will shut its doors in May and lay off all 172 employees.

Pennsylvania-based Penncro Associates Inc., a telemarketing and bill collection company, was enticed to open a Hilo office with state tax incentives and inexpensive office space. The company quickly became the fourth-largest employer in Hilo, making up for some of the sugar industry jobs lost in the 1990s.

The Hilo center won the "Native American Employer of the Year" award in 2001 from the U.S. Department of Labor, according to the company's Web site.

<edit> this is another loss of US jobs to OUTSOURCING TO FOREIGN COUNTRIES

[oasis]

1. "seven years of income tax breaks for creating jobs". Bye, bye Benedict.

[Llewlladdwr]

2. Outsourcing? Bullshit.

There was absolutely NO mention of outsourcing these jobs anywhere. In fact, Penncro blames "a result of unforeseen business circumstances due to the loss of client business at this site" for the closing. Maybe telemarketing and collections ain't doing as well as they used to, especially with the "do not call" registry and the widespread use of cell phones and answering machines.