Three Verizon employees from the Kennewick store at 1321 N. Columbia Center Blvd. were among the 165 laid off across the state.
Verizon said the layoffs are the result of consolidating and restructuring its operations in a letter to the state’s Employment Security Department, a requirement of the Worker Adjustment Retraining Notification, or WARN, Act.
The layoffs are expected to be permanent and will take effect Jan. 23.
Other Eastern Washington layoffs occurred in Spokane, Spokane Valley, Yakima and Wenatchee, as well as in several locations on the west side of the state. In addition, 54 remote workers in the state also will be let go.
Affected employees have the opportunity to secure alternative employment with Verizon, provided they meet eligibility requirements. “This action is not the result of, nor reasonably expected to result in, any overall relocation or contracting out of Verizon’s Washington operations/employee positions,” Verizon said in its letter.
A variety of positions are affected including managers, assistant managers, senior managers, engineers, analysts, maintenance and many in retail.