The T-Mobile call center in Oakland received powerful endorsements today when Maine’s two U.S. senators, Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, urged AT&T to “consider the impact” its $39 billion purchase of T-Mobile would have on the local call center.
The two Republican senators sent a joint letter to Randall Stephenson, AT&T’s chief executive officer.
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“We are writing to express our profound concern about the impact on Maine jobs that could result from AT&T’s proposed acquisition of T-Mobile,” Collins and Snowe wrote. “ … We urge you to consider the impact of your proposed acquisition on the call center’s employees, and ask that you update the employees regarding any developments that may affect them and their families.”
The call center is located at the rear of Oakland’s sprawling FirstPark complex and has about 700 employees.
The Wall Street Journal has reported that the sale would enable the cellphone carriers to make an estimated $40 billion in cost cuts, which would “probably involve thousands of job losses.”
Kate MacKinnon, a spokeswoman for AT&T, said on Monday that it’s “premature” to know whether the T-Mobile call center in Oakland would be affected by the sale.
AT&T officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the letter.
The senators describe the call center as “one of T-Mobile’s most successful and highest performing, saying it employs “nearly 800 Maine residents.” Dan DiGirolamo, the call center’s director of customer service and sales, said Monday that the center has between 650 and 700 employees, depending on call volumes during the year.
According to the letter, “the facility has consistently been ranked as one of the ‘Best Places to Work in Maine’ by the Best Companies Group, and its workers contribute greatly to T-Mobile’s frequent awards for customer satisfaction and quality from J.D. Power & Associates.”
“We look forward to your response to our concerns,” Snowe and Collins conclude.
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