Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) to Close Call Center, 165 Employees Laid-Off

Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) told employees of a Pennsylvania-based call center on Thursday that they would lose their jobs as the company winds down operations in the Ferguson Township, PA-based office.

Operations at the building located on Park Center Boulevard will wrap up during the next few months before it’s closed at the end of June as part of an ongoing restructuring effort for the company following its merger with Merrill Lynch & Co.

Bank of America spokesman TJ Crawford said that the company was going through the process of filing a WARN notice with Pennsylvania’s Department of Labor and Industry. Once the notice is filed, a stte labor specialist will begin working with Bank of America and its employees.

“What they do is work with the employer and employees to schedule a time and place where affected employees can receive info on transitioning through unemployment service to re-employment services and back into the work force,” said Chris Manlove, Labor and Industry spokesman to the Centre Daily Times.

The state labor department’s services include teaching people how to file for unemployment, COBRA benefits and how to make use of job placement services.

Crawford said that Bank of America is “committed to assisting those (workers) affected by this.” He later added that the company was trying to expedite the WARN notification proceedings.

Bank of America has occupied the office location since 1955. The call center included credit card sales and service work. The unit operated on two shifts and the majority of workers were part-time labor.