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Paula Casteel, left, Marcie Mitchell, center, and Alisa Ward, right, try to figure out what they will do soon after being locked out of the Dell Center Thursday. They came dressed for pajama day, and Mitchell asked why Dell had them wear pajamas on the day they were to be laid off.
It was pajama day at Dell Thursday. Employees were encouraged to relax and wear their pajamas to work.
Connie Yanz of Myrtle Creek was in her pj’s when she was told by company officials to turn in her access badge to Dell’s Roseburg call center and leave the building within 30 minutes.
It was a shock to Yanz, who had just been re-hired by the company last month after a three-month leave of absence. She had previously been employed by the company for three years.
“That’s why I went back,” she said. “It was like a family.”
That family was disbanded Thursday morning when the 220 employees of the call and sales center were informed of the immediate closure.
“It’s part of a series of changes that we’re making across the company to simplify and enhance the efficiency of the business and provide better value,” said Dell spokesman David Frink from the company’s Austin, Texas, headquarters.
The Roseburg call center was the only one of its kind in the United States to close, Frink said. Local Dell employees filed a lawsuit against the company in February claiming the company violated federal and state wage and hour laws, but Frink said that was not a factor in the decision.
Joe Van Dam, site manager for the plant in North Roseburg Plaza on Northeast Stephens Street, said employees have been offered “a generous severance package” — one displaced worker said it was regular pay for 60 days, which a Dell spokesman confirmed — and in the future will also be offered help with out-job placement and training with interviewing and resume-building skills.
Connie Yanz of Myrtle Creek was in her pj’s when she was told by company officials to turn in her access badge to Dell’s Roseburg call center and leave the building within 30 minutes.
It was a shock to Yanz, who had just been re-hired by the company last month after a three-month leave of absence. She had previously been employed by the company for three years.
“That’s why I went back,” she said. “It was like a family.”
That family was disbanded Thursday morning when the 220 employees of the call and sales center were informed of the immediate closure.
“It’s part of a series of changes that we’re making across the company to simplify and enhance the efficiency of the business and provide better value,” said Dell spokesman David Frink from the company’s Austin, Texas, headquarters.
The Roseburg call center was the only one of its kind in the United States to close, Frink said. Local Dell employees filed a lawsuit against the company in February claiming the company violated federal and state wage and hour laws, but Frink said that was not a factor in the decision.
Joe Van Dam, site manager for the plant in North Roseburg Plaza on Northeast Stephens Street, said employees have been offered “a generous severance package” — one displaced worker said it was regular pay for 60 days, which a Dell spokesman confirmed — and in the future will also be offered help with out-job placement and training with interviewing and resume-building skills.
Van Dam mentioned that First Call Resolution, a call center in downtown Roseburg, will have a job fair on Monday.
Maureen Stadter, a co-owner of First Call Resolution, said the company wants to hire 35 new employees.
“We’re hoping to pick up as many of the Dell people that we can support,” she said.
Stadter said First Call Resolution, located at 1014 Oak Ave., currently employs about 100 workers. The call center has been in business for four years and deals largely with overflow from other call centers, but also specializes in handling troubleshooting calls for a major game-console manufacturer.
By Christmas, Stadter said First Call Resolution expects to have an additional 100 employees on staff. It will also expand to office space on Cass Avenue in Roseburg.
Yanz was aware of the upcoming job fair, but wasn’t sure it was the answer.
“With 300 people going to that job fair, how many are actually going to get hired?” she said.
Other employees also reacted with doubt to the situation following Dell’s closure.
“They’ve ruined my whole life,” said Paula Casteel as she was leaving the call center Thursday. “I’ve got kids, how am I supposed to feed them?”
Norm Gershon, president of Umpqua Training & Employment, said UT&E and other agencies would be providing informational sessions for displaced employees to let them know about what is available to them.
That includes information on job relocation or retraining.
“Every one of those people will be eligible for dislocated workers services,” Gershon said.
Gershon was involved with the group that first worked to lure Dell to Douglas County in 2002. Dell received funding from the city of Roseburg’s urban renewal fund and the state’s strategic reserve fund. The county, city and state all worked to reconfigure the Roberts Creek Enterprise Zone to include the North Roseburg Plaza, according to a September 2006 story on Dell.
The zone designation allowed Dell a property tax exemption if certain conditions were met, according to that article. The company applied for a five-year abatement, which required compensation packages averaging $40,000 per year, per employee.
Helga Conrad, director of the Umpqua Economic Development Partnership, said Dell fell $200 short, on average, so the company was given a three-year abatement instead. That expired in 2005.
On Thursday, Conrad said she was “shocked” by the closure. She said the call center building, a former Albertsons grocery store, can still be an asset in trying to bring jobs to Douglas County.
“Roseburg is going to move forward,” she said. “We’re going to find other companies to hopefully move into that site. We’ll definitely just keep going.”
Maureen Stadter, a co-owner of First Call Resolution, said the company wants to hire 35 new employees.
“We’re hoping to pick up as many of the Dell people that we can support,” she said.
Stadter said First Call Resolution, located at 1014 Oak Ave., currently employs about 100 workers. The call center has been in business for four years and deals largely with overflow from other call centers, but also specializes in handling troubleshooting calls for a major game-console manufacturer.
By Christmas, Stadter said First Call Resolution expects to have an additional 100 employees on staff. It will also expand to office space on Cass Avenue in Roseburg.
Yanz was aware of the upcoming job fair, but wasn’t sure it was the answer.
“With 300 people going to that job fair, how many are actually going to get hired?” she said.
Other employees also reacted with doubt to the situation following Dell’s closure.
“They’ve ruined my whole life,” said Paula Casteel as she was leaving the call center Thursday. “I’ve got kids, how am I supposed to feed them?”
Norm Gershon, president of Umpqua Training & Employment, said UT&E and other agencies would be providing informational sessions for displaced employees to let them know about what is available to them.
That includes information on job relocation or retraining.
“Every one of those people will be eligible for dislocated workers services,” Gershon said.
Gershon was involved with the group that first worked to lure Dell to Douglas County in 2002. Dell received funding from the city of Roseburg’s urban renewal fund and the state’s strategic reserve fund. The county, city and state all worked to reconfigure the Roberts Creek Enterprise Zone to include the North Roseburg Plaza, according to a September 2006 story on Dell.
The zone designation allowed Dell a property tax exemption if certain conditions were met, according to that article. The company applied for a five-year abatement, which required compensation packages averaging $40,000 per year, per employee.
Helga Conrad, director of the Umpqua Economic Development Partnership, said Dell fell $200 short, on average, so the company was given a three-year abatement instead. That expired in 2005.
On Thursday, Conrad said she was “shocked” by the closure. She said the call center building, a former Albertsons grocery store, can still be an asset in trying to bring jobs to Douglas County.
“Roseburg is going to move forward,” she said. “We’re going to find other companies to hopefully move into that site. We’ll definitely just keep going.”
So you know ...
<i>Information sessions</i>
<b>WHAT</b> Information sessions for dislocated Dell employees, including discussion of unemployment benefits, dislocated worker programs, retraining and managing finances while unemployed <b>WHEN:</b> People are asked to attend at the times that coincide with the first letter of their last name. A-F: 10 a.m. Tuesday G-L: 2 p.m. Tuesday M-R: 10 a.m. Wednesday S-Z: 2 p.m. Wednesday <b>WHERE:</b> Campus Center, Umpqua Community College <b>INFORMATION:</b> 672-7761 and ask for Mary or Donna <i>JOB FAIR</i> <b>WHAT:</b> Job fair for First Call Resolution, the call center based in downtown Roseburg <b>WHEN:</b> 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday <b>WHERE:</b> Village Station, on the corner of Oak Avenue and Pine Street where Anthony’s Italian Restaurant and McMenamins Roseburg Station is located. |
