OTTAWA, April 23 (UPI) -- Dell Canada, a division of Dell Inc., announced Wednesday it is closing its Ottawa call center, eliminating some 1,100 jobs by summer.
About 500 employees were let go immediately after Wednesday morning's announcement. Another 600 will be laid off before the facility closes in July, a company statement said.
About 100 employees will be kept on to support the company's sales division, officials said.
Dell Canada announced in January there would be layoffs in Ottawa, and a day later announced it was shuttering its Edmonton, Alberta, call center some time between May and July, which will cost another 900 jobs.
"This isn't just Ottawa, this isn't just Edmonton, this isn't just Canada," Dell Canada spokesman Blair Patacairk told the Globe and Mail newspaper. He said operations at the company's headquarters in Round Rock, Texas, have also been affected by the downsizing.
Last year, Dell founder and Chief Executive Officer Michael Dell warned the company would be cutting 10 percent of its employees, or about 8,800 jobs.
