Comcast closing call center in Fishers, but keeping 240 workers

Comcast Corp. plans to vacate its 48,000-square-foot call center in Fishers this spring, but no jobs will be lost as a result of the closure.

Instead, Comcast said it plans to let the 240 employees working at the 11988 Exit 5 Parkway office handle their jobs from home.

Company spokesman Michael Wilson said it will cost Comcast “tens of thousands of dollars” to set up employees in home offices, but doing so will end up being cheaper than paying for ongoing overhead costs for a large office.

The call center is in Sun Beam Development Corp.’s Exit Five business park, north of 116th street. Comcast has leased the space for almost 10 years, and the lease expires in April. It is the last remaining Comcast call center in central Indiana.

Wilson said the company expects most of the employees will want to work from home, but other options will be made available, such as transferring to a different call center.

If an employee decides to work from home, Comcast will install the necessary infrastructure, computer equipment and software.

The work-from-home model is still considered a pilot program for Comcast, although it has started testing it in other markets, such as Florida.

Wilson said he did not have information on the success of the pilot program in the other markets, but the company saw the upcoming lease expiration as an opportunity to try it in central Indiana.

He said the goal is to improve employee wellness and convenience while lowering costs.

“We want people to love us and that includes our employees,” Wilson said.