MBNA to close call center in Florida

MBNA, one of Maine’s biggest employers, is closing a call center in Florida, and a Chamber of Commerce official in that state said Wednesday a tight labor market may be the reason why.

The credit card company announced late last month that it would close its office in Boca Raton, Fla., in late 2003. It employs 950 people. The office was opened in the mid-1990s and was used for telemarketing and handling customer calls.

David Spartin, an MBNA spokesman, would not give a reason for the closing, saying only that the company periodically evaluates its offices.

Speaking from the company’s headquarters in Wilmington, Del., Spartin said MBNA has consolidated offices before: It closed its San Francisco office, and workers there were offered jobs at a new office outside Los Angeles.

Mike Arts, president of the Greater Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce, said Wednesday he believes MBNA had difficulties hiring enough employees.

“What I really surmise is it’s probably an employment issue,” he said. The $10-$11 hourly wage MBNA offers there as starting pay is not competitive there, he said. “That doesn’t cut it down here,” Arts said.

Another credit card lender also opened a call center in Boca Raton, he said, which may have made it harder for MBNA to find employees.

Much of the work force was made up of college students from nearby colleges and universities.

But MBNA invested considerably in its office in Boca Raton, Arts said. “They’ve got a beautiful building,” he said.

Spartin said the affected employees in Boca Raton are being offered jobs at MBNA offices in Atlanta, Cleveland and Newark, N.J. The Newark office was opened in January 2001 and employs 440 people. But it will grow to 1,500 workers in coming years, he said.

Any employee who wants to relocate to another office will be offered a financial package to assist with the move, Spartin added. “We think everyone will find a position.”

For those who do not relocate or find other jobs when the office closes, MBNA will offer a six-month severance package, Spartin said.

“There will be no reduction in force for the company,” he said. “Obviously, we’re growing in other places.”

MBNA employs more than 4,500 people in Maine, in offices in Belfast, Camden, Rockland, Fort Kent, Presque Isle, Farmington, Orono, Brunswick and Portland. Most of the jobs in Maine involve handling customer questions or assisting customers with paying their bills.

In all, 25,000 people work for MBNA, in offices around the United States and in Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, and, soon, in Spain.

Last month, the company announced first-quarter earnings of $369 million, up from $311 million in the first quarter of 2001. For the past two years, MBNA’s profit has topped $1 billion.