Sykes to Add 150 More Jobs

September 29, 2010

By JACK OSTEEN
Sykes to Add 150 More Jobs image

Sykes Enterprises, a global leader in call center services that currently employs 350 locally, will add an additional 150 jobs by the end of the year, company officials said Wednesday.

The announcement came as Gov. Mark Sanford joined company executives, economic development officials and local leaders to celebrate the official grand opening of its new call center Wednesday in Sumter. With the state’s unemployment rate at 11 percent, the sixth highest in the nation as of Sept. 21, the announcement was particularly welcome. Local jobless rates for August are even bleaker, with Sumter County at 13.2 percent; Clarendon County, 15.5 percent; and Lee County, 14.5 percent.

“From little acorns mighty oaks can grow, ” Sanford said, referring to Sykes’ humble beginnings as a three-man firm in Charlotte in 1977. “South Carolina is proud to be a part of that story, and I’d simply thank the company’s leaders for the trust they’ve placed in our state.”

Sykes Enterprises, with its local call center located at Sumter Mall, has a presence in 26 countries and employs more than 51,000 people worldwide.

The Sumter location has two big-business clients while Sykes serves more than 200 clients worldwide, many of them Fortune 500 companies.

“Sumter has been overwhelmingly successful,” said Jenna Nelson, executive vice president and human resources director for Sykes, which is headquarted in Tampa Bay, Fla. “Sumter is the standard we use for all other sites.”

Nelson added that South Carolina is the only state that has three Sykes Enterprises call centers. The other two are located in Kingstree and Greenwood.

Stephanie Cetti, Sykes site director for Sumter, introduced Mayor Joe McElveen and Sumter County Chairwoman Vivian Fleming-McGhaney, who both thanked the company for deciding to locate in Sumter and acknowledged the hard work of so many local people.

The grand opening was held under a tent outside the call center, and those in attendance were treated to tours of the facility.

Reach Item publisher Jack Osteen at (803) 774-1238.

(This story was originally published on Sept. 30, 2010 in The Item, and is used with permission from The Item. For more, visit http://www.theitem.com.)