Verizon set to hire 600 more

Company also raises starting pay and adds benefits

Verizon Wireless' Huntsville call center and state headquarters, which opened in September, continues to ramp up hiring, with about 500 customer service employees in place to take calls on technical and billing matters.

"We plan to hire another 600 by the end of the year," said Connie Howell, the center's manager of human resources. "Our capacity (for call-taker positions) is around 1,300," she said Friday.

The company has also raised the annual starting pay for employees at the Huntsville office and others in the South from $26,000 to $27,000, effective Jan. 1, in addition to benefits, such as tuition assistance and health and dental coverage. Verizon Wireless periodically conducts market surveys "to see if we're paying fairly and competitively with the area," she said.

A sixth training class for about 100 people is scheduled for Jan. 28, and another is planned for Feb. 11 to train an additional 48 people. Verizon holds a seven-week training program. After completing the training, the workers have a 12-week transition while they take calls with assistance.

A job fair earlier this week attracted more than 400 people.

"We've had success in finding qualified people" she said.

The 152,000-square-foot Verizon Wireless building in Thornton Research Park in west Huntsville eventually will have a total of about 1,450 employees, including support staff, managers and supervisors, said Jeremiah Knight, the center's customer service director.

There are just over 600 employees now.

Comcast Corp. executives announced in November a $17 million regional call center in Huntsville that will have about 325 employees and handle an average of 400,000 calls a month from residential cable, high-speed Internet and digital phone customers regarding billing, repair and sales.

The 37,000-square-foot building at 7027 Old Madison Pike will serve a five-state region.