Arkansas Blog: Verizon's plans for LR

^{-- Brian Chilson photo}

Full crowd scene today at the Statehouse Convention Center for the Clinton School of Public Service speech by Verizon Wireless CEO Lowell McAdam.

McAdam played up Verison's commitment to local communities with a short video and presentation. Then he got down to brass tacks: what's the Alltel acquisition going to mean for Little Rock?

McAdam said that while he was limited in what he could divulge given that the deal is working its way through federal channels, he did confirm that Verizon will turn the Alltel campus into their 21st regional headquarters. He said that the call center will stay put as well, and that he hopes grow the center to "well over 1,000 employees" within a year of the merger.

Not all was rosy, however. Said McAdam: "Will everyone who has a job that is there in the campus today? No. I'm not going to stand up here and tell you that. These mergers are built on synergy. Synergies involve eliminating redundancies across an organization. So I'm not going to tell you that. But I will tell you that... if we continue to grow, we will stay on that same kind of trajectory. So there will be a lot of opportuniity. It may not be right here in Little Rock, but I can tell you, we've got the message loud and clear from the senator [Mark Pryor introduced McAdam] and the mayor and everyone we meet that preserving jobs here is important."

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McAdam . . . . did confirm that Verizon will turn the Alltel campus into their 21st regional headquarters."

Well, that's an encouraging note, at least.

Posted by: durangokid | August 14, 2008 01:51 PM

I want a cheap house in west Little Rock, I am certain I am close.

Posted by: thenaturalstate | August 14, 2008 02:56 PM

from AR Biz:http://arkansasbusiness.com/article.aspx?aID=107287.59072.119432

...McAdam said Little Rock will be Verizon's 21st regional headquarters and that the existing call center will remain in place. He said Verizon's regional headquarters typically employ about 100, which he said should be similar for the Little Rock location.

"We are going to expand the call center," he said. "We have about 800 customer service representatives in the building today. We think we can take that to at least 1,200."

OK, so Alltel employs around 3,000 people... the regional center will employ 100.

But take heart! They'll add 400 call center jobs!

I'm no mathematical genius, but them's some ugly numbers.

Posted by: Amanita | August 14, 2008 03:30 PM

Yes, Amanita those are sobering numbers but this is SynergyAmerica. We can do more with less. That's been the tune since 1981. But will we Alltel users be on hold for 90 minutes per day? Seems the service stuff never gets a good airing when the nice, positive, executive announcements are made. Will most of Madison County with its many hills and valleys still be a dead zone for connecting? No emergency calls from "booger county." My dear friends who finally scrapped together enough for a "back to land" homestead complete with self-supplied windmills and solar panels just gave up the ghost this month and turned in their cellular phones. They had to drive 5 miles to get a connection. I suggested a CB radio.

Posted by: eLwood | August 14, 2008 03:50 PM

All of those folks who get cut loose should be able to find a home somewhere in Arkansas state government, you just have to know the right folks or be kin to several. The new lottery commission will have enough positions alone to handle all of the Alltel castaways!

Posted by: MysteryShopper | August 14, 2008 05:52 PM

I'm no math whiz but I think I can add 1000 call center jobs plus 100 management jobs. Think that totals 1,100. Currently Alltel employs about 2700 in LR. So doing a little Jethro ciphering tells me 1,600 good people will lose their jobs. Not only losing 1,600 jobs, trading high paying jobs for average paying ones. Not good. Cheap homes in Chenal coming soon.

Posted by: mouthinfreely | August 14, 2008 08:25 PM

Arkansas Blog

Verizon's plans for LR

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