Bank of America says it will close its Wichita call center and vacate the 50,000-square-foot building by July 30 of next year.

The center has 310 employees. KAKE-TV reports the company announced Wednesday it was exercising an early lease exit option on the facility.

Bank of America moved into the call center in October 2006 after spending $10 million to renovate the space. At the time it was the biggest of the company's three national call centers and replaced a smaller one in Wichita with fewer employees.

Bank of America signed a 10-year lease on the building and received numerous incentives from the state of Kansas for keeping the center in Wichita.

Company spokeswoman Diane Wagner says the closing will allow Bank of America to save money and consolidate work at other call centers.

Utah-based Teleperformance, a Pensacola call center will begin laying off some of its 176 employees this month and close permanently by May 31, according to a company spokesman.

Teleperformance Executive Vice President Mark Pfeiffer said the decision was the result of a “strategic move designed to better align and utilize existing resources and capacity.

The Heinberg Street call center provides customer care services for several of Teleperformance’s major clients in a number of business sectors, Pfeiffer said.

By noon on Tuesday the main door to the company’s lobby were locked, and several employees gathered in the parking lot refused to comment on the announcement.

The company said it is working with local officials to help the affected staff find employment as their jobs are phased out.