Courier outsources call center, will lay off 4

The Courier in Waterloo, Iowa, will join the ranks of Lee Enterprises newspapers outsourcing its circulation call center to The Times of Northwest Indiana in Munster, Ind. Two full-time and two part-time employees will be laid off.

The memo from Courier publisher David Braton:

Today we are announcing the regionalization of our Circulation Call Center. Effective March 31, 2010 subscribers calling The Courier will be handled by a call center at another Lee newspaper in Munster, Indiana. Local calls from subscribers related to stops, starts, vacations and delivery issues will be routed to Munster. Munster has access to our circulation system and will text message shortage drivers in Waterloo with instructions for deliveries.

We are familiar with regionalization since we are one of six finance centers in Lee. With this change comes the pain that 2 full time, 2 open positions, and 2 part time positions in Circulation have been affected by our regionalization.

David Braton
Publisher
Courier Communications

(Via e-mail)

News from Waterloo/Cedar Falls?

What's going on in Waterloo, Iowa, today? It looks like the Lee plane made a flight from Davenport to Waterloo a little after 9 this morning. Send tips, comments and information to lee.ent.watch@gmail.com.

52 laid off at The Courier

Printing of The Courier in Waterloo, Iowa, has been outsourced to the Cedar Rapids Gazette. Eighteen full-time and 34 part-time pressroom and mailroom employees were laid off.