Telus tells Ontario workers to move to Montreal after closing Barrie office

Telus is forcing its call centre employees back into the office for three days a week. However, one call centre in Barrie, ON, has been closed for good, leading to complications for 150 of Telus’ Ontario-based support employees.

This leaves those people with three options: they can relocate to Montreal, be laid off with a compensation package, or try to find other employment with Telus that will allow them to continue to work in the Barrie area.

Since 2020, Telus support employees have been on a work-from-home model, and according to United Steelworkers Local 1944 president Michael Phillips, there was little notice given to people about the upcoming return to office changes.

Phillips also stresses that Telus is a national telecom giant and could easily have an office in Ontario for its support workers, but it is deciding not to.

In a report on Global News, Telus spokesperson Brandi Merker mentions that the Barrie office was closed after the company did a “thoughtful review of [its] real estate.”

She goes on to clarify that those who choose to relocate will receive financial support, and the separation packages for those without a job will include 18 months of wages and possible bonuses based on seniority.

This follows a 6,000-person layoff round last summer.

Source: Global News