Static on the line: Call-center layoffs could spell more trouble ahead for Maine labor market

Image / Adobe Stock Call-center job cuts by Charter Communications could be an early indicator of further disruptions to Maine's labor market, experts say.

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By Renee Cordes

As Charter Communications lays off all 176 employees at its Portland call center, experts expect more static on the line for Maine’s labor market.

The Connecticut-based owner of the Spectrum telecommunications brand, which employed 700 people in Maine as of August, is realigning resources to boost efficiency while underscoring its continued investment in the state.

Job market watchers view the cuts as an early indicator of further disruptions.

“I don’t expect that the Portland layoffs to be an isolated event,” said Oak McCoy, an assistant economics professor at the University of New England’s College of Business. "They are an early signal of stress in a sector that’s being reshaped both by economic conditions and technology.”

The layoffs at Charter Communications, he said, reflect both a cooling job market and longer-term changes in how companies structure work.

“Call centers are part of the business services sector that tends to feel economic pressure early,” McCoy noted. One reason for this is that the jobs have higher turnover and less built-in protection, making them easier for companies to cut or consolidate when growth slows or costs rise.

“As a result, layoffs tend to surface early in these more exposed roles, serving as an early signal before broader job losses appear,” he said.

McCoy also pointed to an ongoing structural shift that goes beyond the normal ups and downs of the business cycle as advances in artificial intelligence and automation transform customer service at a rapid pace.

“As the economy shows signs of cooling and labor-displacing technologies spread more quickly, employers will begin to cut or freeze hiring in roles that are easiest to automate, even if the broader labor market remains relatively stable,” he said.

'Bad sign for workers'

Garrett Martin of the Maine Center for Economic Policy, a nonprofit and nonpartisan research and policy organization based in Augusta, said there were concerning signs that Charter’s call-center layoffs may not be a one-off event given the latest data on jobs in Maine from the Center for Workforce Research and Information.

The most recent barometer shows a decline in year-over-year-job growth for July through September in Maine, Martin said.

“That’s potentially a bad sign for workers,” Martin said, also noting that weaker jobs data were key to last week’s rate-cut decision by the Federal Reserve.

U.S. central bankers cut the federal funds rate by 0.25%, noting slowing job gains and an edging up in the national unemployment rate through September.

Martin’s policy suggestion for Maine lawmakers: “Given the uncertainty and economic upheaval caused by the Trump Administration and continued rising costs for families made worse by tariffs and cuts to federal health care and food assistance, state policymakers should be preparing to do everything they can to provide stability for families and shore up Maine’s economy,” he said.