HSBC credit card center closing with loss of 240 jobs
6/14/2008
Office has operated since 1999 and will leave 240 out of work
A Northside credit card services center will close its doors by August, leaving 240 employees without work.
HSBC Finance Corp. Card & Retail Services management began speaking with workers at the center "recently," said Cindy Savio, spokeswoman for parent company HSBC North America Holdings Inc.
The center has operated on Vantage Way South near the airport since 1999. Its closure comes as part of a "continued strategic review of the business" and an effort to better manage the staffing of its credit card centers, Savio said.
The company's "numerous" other centers will handle the displaced workload, which includes customer service, collections and various other services related to the company's credit card business, she said.
HSBC's credit card division issues MasterCard and Visa, the GM Card and AFL-CIO Union Plus cards, according to its Web site. Affiliates of the business also offer "credit cards to consumers underserved by traditional providers" in the U.S.
The company is affiliated with the international banking and financial company HSBC Holdings PLC, headquartered in London.
HSBC's departure adds more job losses to the 279 positions listed for this year in Jacksonville on the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification notices cataloged by the state.
HSBC's announcement marks the largest so far, though economic development executive Jerry Mallot said the financial services industry in Jacksonville is strong.
"It's always disappointing when a company chooses to close a facility," said Mallot, who leads the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce's economic development division.
"Fortunately, at this point in time we're seeing other companies increase financial services jobs which will hopefully mean less impact."
As an example, Mallot noted Fidelity National Information Services, a Jacksonville-based company whose incentive package passed the City Council last month.
FIS will add 210 positions, while a pending deal with Deutsche Bank could mean 1,000 new jobs.
Though Charlotte, N.C., and Nashville, Tenn., were also competing for the company's expansion, Mallot said Deutsche Bank has "agreed in principle to focus on Jacksonville."
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