About 140 Cornwall call centre employees will find themselves out of work at the end of April.
StarTek company officials have confirmed their Cornwall operation is closing.
A source told Seaway News the facility will be shuttered April 30.
The source, who has worked at the call centre for a number of years, told this newspaper employees were informed shortly before the end of the work day Tuesday.
"Everyone was told to get off the phones," said the source."We were called into a meeting."
Emotions were running pretty high during the meeting.
"People were in shock," said the source. "Lots of people were crying."
While staffing levels at the call centre have been cut in the past - the Cornwall operation used to employ 560 - the employees were not expecting a complete shut down, said the source.
StarTek company reps said industry downturns forced them to make the difficult decision to close the Cornwall operation.
“This was a business decision made based on several factors,” said Chad Carlson, president and CEO of StarTek. “We appreciate the work done over the years by the many talented people who have been part of the Cornwall team. The decision had nothing to do with their performance.”
StarTek will be working with the affected employees over the next few months to ensure the transition goes smoothly, the company said.
The source who spoke with Seaway News suggested employees who have been employed by the company for five years or more will receive a severance package.
