Amazon plans to close several call centers in the United States with customer service workers as it switches to remote work in certain roles in a high-revenue industry to save money on real estate, cut office costs and fill jobs.
The COVID-19 pandemic has speed up the transition to remote working in most industries. Cloud call center companies such as Five9 Inc are seeing an increase in business. Amazon, the world’s largest online retailer, is also encouraging its customer service staff to work from home in some of the country’s call centers in order to save money on real estate.
Amazon Web Services, the company’s cloud computing division, also sells Amazon Connect software that enables companies to serve customers remotely.
An Amazon spokesman said the company was working with staff to ensure a smooth transition to remote working but declined to comment on the planned closure of call centers.
“We’re offering additional members of our customer service team the increased flexibility that comes with working virtually. We’re working with employees to make sure their transition is seamless while continuing to prioritize best-in-class support for customers,” Amazon spokesman Brad Glasser said in an email.
The sources for this piece include an article in Reuters.