Hiring at a fairly frantic pace, Ryla Inc. is nearly halfway toward reaching its goal of employing 600 people at its Lafayette operations.

And the 600 number might be surpassed, as the company gears up its call center facility that provides customer service.

"If we get the people, we have the jobs. If we get the applicant flow, we could do as much as 700," Mark Wilson, Ryla president and chief executive officer, said following a ribbon-cutting ceremony to welcome the company to the local business community.

"We're really excited about the reputation the community brings -- the work ethic. It puts us in a place where we feel comfortable."

Alorica Inc. opened the call center in August 2009 and acquired Ryla about eight months ago.

Greater Lafayette Commerce sponsored Monday's celebration of the name change of the facility to Ryla, which is holding a job fair this week for potential employees.

"We're always excited when a business comes to our community. Especially those that are hiring," said Resa Hodnett, membership program manager at Greater Lafayette Commerce.

Lafayette resident Lana Fleming was hired by the company during the initial wave of employment on Oct. 4.

"I'm really enjoying it. I just graduated from college and they hired me as an assistant to the trainers," Fleming said. "I'm getting to apply my education to my job."

Lafayette Mayor Tony Roswarski attended Monday's ceremony and said Ryla is helping the city, which had an unemployment rate of 9.2 percent in September, take a "wonderful step" forward.

"This is going to be a great company, a great place to work. As we work to compete in the global economy ... we have to show we have that work force for the future."

Immediate employment opportunities are available for qualified applicants.

"We have (jobs) available now. We're in a position to hire folks today," Wilson said. We'd like to get to 600-plus in the next 30 days. We're open for business and trying to create the 'best job you've ever had.' "

Sitel, the Nashville-based call center company that took over Corning Inc.'s photonics testing center in Erwin two years ago, will lay off about 300 workers by the end of the year.

Sitel's Vice President for Marketing Andrew Kokes said the job cuts were the result of the loss of one of the center's major customers. However, he would not identity the company.



All of the affected employees were given eight weeks' notice and the company is working with the state Labor Department and local employers to provide immediate employment and benefits assistance for workers who will lose their jobs.




"Notices were sent out (Tuesday) and the action is based on unforeseen circumstances," said Kokes. "We lost one of our clients and the reduction is not a reflection of the service delivered by the employees."



In a prepared statement, Joel Campos, director of Sitel's Erwin facility, also complimented the quality of the employees by saying the Corning community has provided the company with some of the best talent and skills across the customer care industry.


Sitel offers inbound call handling for customer service requests, technical support and order taking. The company also provides outbaound telemarketing, database and list-building services and direct response marketing.


In addition to call services, Sitel provides outsourcing services for a number of business functions, including order processing and payroll management.


The privately held company started operations in Painted Post in 2008 at 101 Canada Road. Corning Inc. retained ownership of the former telecommunications building and to help the company set up shop in the 45,000 square-foot two-story building, Empire State Development provided a $1.5 million grant, plus another $750,000 from the Governor's Office of Small Cities. Sitel spent about $4 million to renovate the building and intended to employ about 400 workers.


Sitel's downsizing plans come less than a month after another call center in downtown Elmira, American Customer Care, announced its plan to beef up its head count by adding up to 100 new jobs. American Customer Care employs about 140 people at the Iszard's building in downtown Elmira.