Firm aims to create 600 jobs in West Georgia

COLUMBUS, Ga. — A Colorado-based company says it plans to create 600 jobs in Georgia over the next five years.

Global Callcenter Solutions will occupy temporary space in downtown Columbus before moving to a 46,000-squarefoot structure that used to be a Winn-Dixie supermarket, the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer reported.

The firm made the announcement recently at the Greater Columbus Chamber of Commerce. Tyler Cox, Global Callcenter Solutions’ vice president of information technology, said the company explored locations in Florida, Texas and other areas of the Southeast before choosing Columbus.

The company is based in Pueblo, Colorado, and its clients include cable television and broadband service firms.

Company officials said they’ll be hiring nearly 100 people soon in the downtown Columbus building while the permanent location is being retrofitted with wiring, telephones and other office equipment needed to operate the call center longterm.

While the 90 positions in the temporary downtown office will be filled relatively soon, ramping up to the overall target of 600 jobs should not take long, Cox said.

“We’ve committed to do it over five years. We hope to do it a lot sooner because our business is expanding and growing, and we need people,” Cox said.

Global Callcenter Solutions will be investing $4.9 million to launch the Columbus operation, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal said in a news release. Most of that will be spent retrofitting the former supermarket space.

The grocery store closed just over a year ago as a part of the downsizing in the local market and elsewhere by Floridabased Southeastern Grocers, the chain’s parent company, the Columbus newspaper reported.