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Rebuilding company adds 50 jobs in Billings

A Billings call center owned by Global Crossing is expected to play a key role in the troubled telecom company’s efforts to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

By TOM HOWARD
Of The Gazette Staff

Global Crossing is adding 50 jobs to its Billings call center at 550 S. 24th St. W., doubling the size of its local workforce.

Carl J. Grivner, Global Crossing’s chief operations officer, was in Billings Monday as the company’s new employees went through a two-week orientation and training program. Sandy Peek, manager of the call center, said the new workers will be on the job March 1.
High productivity

Grivner said the Billings operation has a reputation for high productivity and a solid work ethic, so it makes sense to add the new positions here. He said the Billings call center will increase its traffic from 35,000 calls a month to 400,0000 calls a month, operating around the clock. The Billings workers make an average of $10 an hour, not including benefits.

The new Billings employees will provide customer support for two products. One group will handle calls about long-distance calling cards geared toward consumers. The other group will provide assistance with telecommunications products geared toward multinational commercial operations, Peek said.

Global Crossing, the formerly high-flying international telecommunications company, filed for bankruptcy on Jan. 31 of last year, burdened by $12.4 billion in debt. Since then, the company has reduced its debt to $200 million and slashed its work force from 16,000 to 5,000 positions. The company’s stock, which traded for $60 in mid-1999, now trades for pennies a share.
Corporate scandal

Global Crossing last year became embroiled in an Enron-style corporate scandal. Former CEO Gary Winnick unloaded more than $700 million in stock before the company’s collapse. Employees saw their retirement savings evaporate.

The company was purchased last month for $250 million by Hutchison Telecommunications Limited and Singapore Technologies Telemedia Pte. Ltd. in exchange for a 61.5 percent ownership stake.

Grivner, who was named the company’s chief operations officer last February, described 2003 as a pivotal year for the company. He said Global Crossing hopes to achieve positive cash flow during the second quarter.

A surplus of fiber-optic cable has plagued the telecommunications industry in recent years. But Grivner said the excess capacity shows signs of abating with an increase in Internet and data transmission.

"We see an opportunity to grow," he said.

So how does Global Crossing discuss the company’s serious financial issues with new employees? By telling the truth, Grivner and Peet said.

One of the new trainees praised Global Crossing for being honest about the company’s history and its prospects.

"They were honest," said Xaiber, who legally dropped her last name and now goes by a single moniker. "They were direct. If I had any questions, they would answer them.

"We need the kinds of jobs that Global Crossing is offering here," Xaiber said.

The Global Crossing call center is at 550 S. 24th St. W., just west of the Barnes & Noble bookstore in an expansive office building formerly known as the Petro-Lewis building.

The Billings call center was originally operated by the long-distance carrier American Sharecom, which was taken over by Frontier Communications in 1997. Global Crossing acquired Frontier in 1999.

Tom Howard can be reached at 657-1261 or at [email protected]

Copyright © The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises.

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