Clearwire to move 700 workers to TeleTech

NEW YORK, USA: Wireless service provider Clearwire Corp will transfer 700 customer service employees to an outside company, doubling the number of workers it is taking off its payroll to cut costs.

Clearwire's announcement on Thursday that it is moving most of its customer service workers to TeleTech Holdings Inc follows its decision last month to move 700 network management workers to Ericsson.

Between the two deals, the company, which is 54 per cent owned by Sprint Nextel, is offloading more than 40 per cent of its 3,300-strong workforce to avoid a cash crunch as it seeks new funding to expand its service.

Clearwire did not disclose the financial impact of the latest outsourcing move.

It will keep 180 employees in its two customer service locations Las Vegas and Milton, Florida, but the rest will move to TeleTech immediately, the company said.