Some Alorica employees laid off

Andre Williams, Staff Reporter

Employees of call centre Alorica who are unable to work from home as the company transitions to remote working have been laid off for 30 days, starting today.

When quizzed by our news team, a senior employee said that it was too soon to state how many employees have been laid off.

In a memo sent to employees over the weekend, Alorica said that the affected workers will be paid 25 per cent of their base pay from May 4 to May 10.

Alorica indicated that displaced workers can apply for the government’s COVID financial assistance programme.

The company at the same time said that employees will continue to receive their health benefits until further notice.

Alorica said it understands how difficult the fallout from COVID-19 has been but conveyed that it has been forced to take containment measures for its operations.

Alorica said it will continue efforts to convert as many employees as possible to working from home.

Alorica employees at both the Portmore, St Catherine plant and the Kingston office were sent on state quarantine or self-quarantine after being closed.

Jamaica has recorded 469 COVID-19 cases, 217 of which have been linked to Alorica employees and their contacts.

Meanwhile, news emerged on the weekend that an employee at the Naggo Head, Portmore office of Conduent, one of Jamaica’s largest call centre firms, had tested positive for the coronavirus.

This brings to three the number of call centres with confirmed cases.

Last week, news came that an employee at the New Kingston-based Centerfield Media tested positive for COVID-19, triggering a ­contact-tracing probe by the Ministry of Health & Wellness among scores of employees and family members.

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