Call-center operator Apac Customer Services announced a major expansion that will bring more than 1,100 new jobs to Arizona, including nearly 700 in Tucson.
Apac, which is based near Chicago, says it plans to add more than 300 jobs to its two Tucson sites in the next year while adding 135 workers at a site in north Phoenix. Over the following two years, the company plans to add 669 more jobs, including 382 in Tucson and 287 in Phoenix.
Apac already is one of Tucson’s biggest employers, ranking 24th among Southern Arizona’s largest employers with 1,904 full-time-equivalent employees at the start of the year, according to the latest Star 200 survey of the region’s biggest employers.
The company made the announcement Monday with the Arizona Commerce Authority and Tucson Regional Economic Opportunities Inc., which touted the move as a major boost to the Phoenix-Tucson “Sun Corridor.”
Tucson’s call-center industry employs more than 12,000 people, with operators running the gamut from in-house operations by Geico, Citi and Intuit, and contract centers operated by Apac, Afni, Agero, C3/Customer Contact Channels and OptumRx.
Apac serves customers in a broad range of industries, including health care, financial services, technology, communications, and the travel and hospitality industries. The company’s Tucson offices are on the east side at 1650 S. Research Loop and on the south side at 2929 E. Corona Road.
“Access to qualified and experienced customer-service personnel, top educational institutions and great weather make the state an ideal place for us to grow,” Jack Jones, chief operating officer of Apac’s parent company, Expert Global Solutions Inc., said in a news release.
Joe Snell, president and CEO of TREO, said that state leaders, local officials and economic development partners worked together to deliver “an important win for the economic recovery.”
Apac can take advantage of state job-training credits, TREO said.
The program provides reimbursement for up to 75 percent of eligible training expenses for jobs paying at least a certain wage rate, which for Pima County is $33,750 annually.
“We’re pleased that Apac’s existing presence in the Sun Corridor megaregion continues to grow,” said Pima County Supervisor Sharon Bronson. “Tucson’s high-quality, bilingual workforce is a key competitive advantage in today’s global economy.”
The new jobs created by the expansion are full-time positions that will work to support major clients, including call center, leadership and support roles, Apac said.
