Comcast To Close 3 Northern California Call Centers; Shift 1,000 Jobs Out Of State

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - Comcast announced Tuesday it will close all three of its call centers in Northern California because of the high cost of doing business in the Golden State.

Comcast will close its call centers in Natomas, Livermore and Morgan Hill.

"Comcast arrived at this decision after thoughtfully and methodically studying the market and our potential options. We determined that the high cost of doing business in California makes it difficult to run cost-effective call centers in Northern California," said Andrew C. Johnson, Comcast regional vice president.

According to Comcast, 1,000 Comcast employees, including 300 in Natomas, will see their jobs shifted to the other centers. For employees who don't want to relocate, Comcast says they will be provided with severance benefits and outplacement assistance. They have until Oct. 1 to notify the company of their decision.

Those jobs are being moved to places such as Colorado, Washington and Oregon. Employees were shocked, some even brought to tears, afterl learning come Nov. 30, they could be out of work or living in another state.

"They say customer first," employee Crystal McCoy said. "Think about your employees also. I'm a mother. I have bills. I have everything They don't take that into consideration."

Comcast made the announcement at the Sacramento Convention Center on Tuesday morning.