Bresnan cuts nearly entire Helena office

Less than four months after claiming a new operations center in Billings wouldn’t cost any jobs at the Helena call center, Bresnan Communications delivered pink slips to all but four of an estimated 50 Helena employees.

By JOHN HARRINGTON – IR Business Editor

http://helenair.com/articles/2004/08/12/helena/a01081204_03.txt

The layoffs will be phased in between now and the end of the year, according to vice president of operations Steve Brookstein. Local general manager Bob Garrison referred all questions to the company’s Purchase, N.Y., headquarters.

Brookstein said the company’s aim is to whittle the number of locations receiving service calls from 27 down to two, and that in April, Helena was strongly being considered for the second location. He said the company subsequently decided to maintain its second call center in Cheyenne, Wyo., instead.

Bresnan offices in Great Falls, Kalispell, Butte and Missoula will each also lose a handful of jobs, but not nearly as many as Helena, where representatives fielded all service calls for the company during non-business hours.

Brookstein said most employees will have the opportunity to apply for jobs in Billings, and those accepting new positions will have moving expenses paid. Those who choose not to pursue work with Bresnan will receive a severance package, he said.

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"It was a very difficult decision because we do realize that it affects real people and their families," Brookstein said. "At the same time, we have to think of the well-being of all 800 families that we employ as far as staying competitive in the telecommunications arena."

One possibility for the laid-off workers may be the local Qwest call center. Qwest Montana president Rick Hays said Wednesday the company is still taking applications with an eye toward future growth.

When Bresnan’s new Billings operations center is up and running at full speed in January, it will employ 300, Brookstein said.

Billings offered a generous incentive package to Bresnan when the company was looking for a site for its new center, including $119,000 from Big Sky Economic Development Authority’s business incentive program; $500,000 from a federal appropriation to help with construction costs; and the promise of an additional $80,000 over the next decade to offset operating expenses.

Billings beat out a number of other Montana and Wyoming cities for the new center, for which Helena was not in the running.

Bresnan bought the cable systems of AT&T Broadband in 2002, taking over AT&T’s systems in Montana, Colorado and Wyoming. In those states plus Utah, the company claims 314,000 subscribers.

John Harrington can be reached at 447-4080 or [email protected].