Sento plans layoffs in New Mexico

ALBUQUERQUE — A Utah company plans to lay off more than 100 workers at its call center in downtown Albuquerque.

Sento Corp. employees who handled a contract with satellite TV provider DirecTV were told last week they would be let go at the end of the month, Scott Berry, an operations supervisor at the local Sento office, told the Albuquerque Journal in a copyright story published Wednesday.

Between 110 and 115 customer service agents and supervisors, including himself, would be affected by the layoffs, Berry said.

Sento opened its bilingual call center in Albuquerque a year ago and had plans to hire up to 800 workers. The company hired more than 300 employees last year during a three-day job fair.

The company has received about $1 million in training-cost reimbursements through the state's Job Training Incentive Program, managed by the state Economic Development Department.

The department has a contract to reimburse training costs for Sento of up to $2.7 million, according to Kelly O'Donnell, deputy department secretary.

"Clearly, we won't be paying any more," she said.

Under current rules, job training funds can be paid only if the employees are hired and complete training. There's no provision for a company that closes or lays off employees.

O'Donnell said the JTIP board recently added a "recapture" clause that would deny claims for any company that closed its doors within six months of training employees. She said the board now plans to amend the rules to address layoffs.