Connecticut state officials have denounced AT&T’s plans to relocate 60
customer service jobs in its Meriden office to Michigan.
AT&T told “maintenance administrators,” who take calls from customers in need of land-line phone repairs and then dispatch crews, that the company would be closing its dispatch office in Meriden and moving those jobs to a Michigan office, said Bill Henderson, president of Communications Workers of America Local 1298.
The administrators have been given the choice to relocate to Michigan, transfer to a different department in Connecticut, or take a severance package of up to a year’s pay.
Republican Governor M. Jodi Rell sent a letter to state regulators ordering them to review the layoffs as part of their pending investigation into problems with AT&T’s customer service.
Officials believe that moving the jobs to Michigan will further erode AT&T’s already troubled customer service. The company disagrees, as repair crews will still be located locally.