When Wingspan Portfolio Advisors purchased JPMorgan Chase’s (JPM) customer service operations in Monroe, Louisiana in September 2013, the company gave 400 JPMorgan employees the opportunity to continue their employment with Wingspan.
The company also promised to bring 900 jobs to the area in 10 years.
But now, the Monroe workforce is down to less than 100 people after a round of layoffs last week, according to a report from The News-Star in Monroe.
The laid off employees said that the company currently only occupies two floors of the building it leased from JPMorgan as part of the deal, instead of the seven it once occupied.
From the News-Star report:
Neither the Louisiana Department of Economic Development nor the city of Monroe's economic development officer were given prior notice of the layoffs, although officials said they reached out to the company as early as Wednesday.
Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Stephen Moret told The News-Star Wednesday his department had "reached out to Wingspan several times (Wednesday) and have yet to receive a substantive response."
The News-Star reports that it spoke to five people who were laid off last week by Wingspan. They told the News-Star that Wingspan told them they were “furloughed” and could potentially be rehired if the company secures more business.
Company executive Guy Davis said in an email Wingspan expects to rebuild its Monroe workforce if the company acquires new clients.
Monroe Mayor Jamie Mayo told the News-Star he was “deeply disappointed” about the layoffs.
“My thoughts now are with the people who have lost their jobs, and my hope is that Wingspan can secure the business it needs to restore the jobs and put them back to work," he said.
