AT&T call center near Atwater closes its doors

MERCED COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- An AT&T call center in the North Valley closed its doors on Monday, impacting more than 400 employees.

Over the last month, workers held rallies and signed petitions urging the telecommunications giant to keep the facility open. The mayor of Atwater says the closing is the biggest economic disaster for the city since Castle Air Force Base shut down in the 1990s.

"A lot of people, outside organizations have gotten involved to try to keep our jobs, but unfortunately it's been to no avail. It seems like the company is done, doesn't want to deal with it," said Symeon Smith, a former AT&T call center employee.

AT&T has been the single largest employer at Castle since 1997. The company announced plans to close the call center in June and offered transfers to four other facilities, but three are out of state.

In a statement, AT&T said it's consolidating work to increase efficiency and better serve customers.