Outdoor gear and apparel merchant L.L. Bean will furlough about 75% of its staff at the Bangor, ME-based call center starting in May, according to the Kennebec (ME) Journal/Morning Sentinel.
All but 50 of the 200 workers at the Bangor facility will be furloughed — which means they will be out of work temporarily – under what the company calls an “extended lack of work” program, according to the article.
L.L. Bean spokesperson Carolyn Beem did not return calls to MULTICHANNEL MERCHANT by press time, but told the newspaper: “They will remain active employees with seniority and all benefits. Hopefully, we’ll be able to reassess in the summer and bring them all back.”
The Bangor facility, which opened in fall 2005, was selected for temporary layoffs ahead of three other facilities — in Portland, Lewiston, and Waterville, ME, because Bangor was the newest call center to go online. The 50 employees who will be kept through May and June will be picked by seniority. Workers will be brought back by seniority when L.L. Bean begins staffing up the call centers for the fall/holiday this summer, Beem said.
L.L. Bean in March released its 2008 financial report, which revealed a 7.8% drop in revenue from 2007.