Washington Mutual Inc. has told 1,000 of its Chatsworth call-center workers that their jobs will be moved to San Antonio and Costa Rica, in an attempt to cut costs. The positions will start to be phased out in two months, with some employees being offered work at a new center in San Antonio, where most of the jobs are being moved, according to the Los Angeles Times. Some of the others will be offered job-search assistance. An additional 2,000 Washington Mutual employees will remain in Chatsworth at an office complex that once housed the headquarters of Great Western Financial Corp, which Washington Mutual acquired in 1997. According to the Los Angeles Times, the jobs that will remain in Chatsworth are for the most part, higher-paying that those that will be moved, including positions in human resources, finance, legal, marketing, purchasing and loan. Bruce Ackerman, CEO of the Valley Economic Alliance was dismayed but not surprised about Washington Mutual’s decision. “We’re obviously disappointed in their decision, but I understand it from a corporate standpoint. These are some of the lowest paying jobs they offer and when they can get the same basic tasks completed at less of a cost, they will,” Ackerman said. “Unfortunately, the cost of doing business in California helps to create this problem. I’m not happy about it, but I’m a realist and I know that there’s not a lot we can do about it. They’re following the trend Countrywide started a few years back.”
