British Airways will close its Jacksonville call center operations by the end of the year, a move that will affect about 280 employees.
"Following a global review of our call center operations, the decision has been taken to close Flytele, our call center in Jacksonville by the end of December 2013," a British Airways spokeswoman said Tuesday in an email.
The call center operates as Flytele and is located at 4887 Belfort Road. It is registered as Teleflight Limited Inc. and opened in 2001.
The spokeswoman confirmed that 280 staff would be affected by its closing. She said the company will work with the union and the affected employees "during this time."
In a statement, the spokeswoman said the decision "has not been taken lightly" and is part of the company's efforts "to ensure our customers receive the best possible service at the right level of cost, operational effectiveness and flexibility."
The company's Jacksonville call center operational costs are "significantly higher" than its other call centers and its closure is based purely on costs, she said. She did not elaborate on the difference in costs of the Jacksonville call center to others.
The company decided to exercise an option within its property lease to end the agreement in March 2014, the spokeswoman said.
As of Wednesday morning, no Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification notice, also known as a WARN notice, from the company had been updated with the state's website.
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