By Elesha George
The government has asked the operators ofDixie Operations Limited to reconsider its decision to close its Antigua branch.
Dixie Operations Ltd. is a contact/call centre which provides telemarketing and risk management to its sister company, 888holdings.
Workers were informed that they would be temporarily laid off, following a Zoom meeting on Wednesday morning.
In excess of 100 workers were told that the offshore company is thinking of parting ways with the Antigua branch.
The employees have been laid off for one week pending a final decision on the future of the company.
One employee told Observer that they were not informed about the reason for the closure.
“Obviously, a lot of us shared rage, confusion and fear of being unemployed especially during this pandemic,” the staff member said.
However, Prime Minister Gaston Browne told Observer that his government has been advised of the closure which Dixie said “Was due to certain regulatory and other issues that required consolidation of their business in Europe.”
The government has asked the company to reconsider its decision to close and even suggested other options to include a deferral of the decision to close, to allow the staff to transition into new jobs when the economy stabilises.
Observer media has reached out to the company for comment.