About 70 Cox workers to be laid off

About 70 people, or 35 percent of the workforce at Cox Communications in Middle Georgia, will be affected by the company’s consolidation with Cox Florida.

At the same time, about 50 new jobs will be created, said Mary Bowman, community relations manager for Middle Georgia.

“The majority of these (new) jobs will be located in the Cox Florida markets, but some will remain in Middle Georgia,” Bowman said. “Relocation assistance and priority consideration will be provided to employees who accept positions outside the Middle Georgia market.”

Bowman could not provide a breakdown of how many of the new jobs would be in Middle Georgia.

Thursday was the “final round” of layoffs, Bowman said. “We have finalized the process of consolidating Cox Middle Georgia operations with the Florida system.”

While the final date for the people being let go is in early September, “some employees will leave sooner depending upon the position impacted,” she said.

Cox Communications announced in mid-June that a realignment of operational divisions with Cox Florida would result in the loss of four senior executives, including Senior Vice President and General Manager Mike Dyer. He is expected to remain with the company through the transition.

Then earlier this month, Bowman said some employees would be laid off as part of the consolidation, but would not release the number affected because the company was still working through the realignment.

The types of jobs impacted locally include “the call center and various cross-functional back office support roles,” Bowman said. “Florida will house the new regional Cox Florida-Georgia call center.”

As of December, Cox corporate employed about 7,200 people in Georgia and about 66,000 nationwide, she said. The cable/Internet system in Middle Georgia is the only Cox system in the state, Bowman said.

Last year, the company consolidated other systems nationwide, and the Middle Georgia system will become part of the newly merged Florida system.

Bowman was quick to point out that Cox will continue to be involved in the local community.

“The impact of the realignment will be invisible to our customers,” she said. “We will still maintain a strong local presence and continue to invest significantly in the Middle Georgia community.”

To contact writer Linda S. Morris, call 744-4223.