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APAC reduces workers
By Fanny S. Chirinos (Contact)
Saturday, July 7, 2007
Corpus Christi quietly has lost hundreds of jobs during the past year, the result of downsizing and high turnover at one of the city's largest employers.
The losses at APAC Customer Services occurred unannounced to the public, other than notations required in filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission because APAC is a publicly traded company. The shrouded approach was a stark contrast to the buyout tone at the company during the past few years when it told economic development officials it would be able to hire hundreds of new employees each year. In July 2006, the company ranked as the city's 10th largest employer with 1,200 employees, according to the city's Comprehensive Annual Financial Report. It now has about 620 employees.
George Hepburn, APAC's chief financial officer at the corporate office in Deerfield, Ill., said the company hasn't downsized in the past year and has had about 600 employees in Corpus Christi since last July. The company also relocated its office in Corpus Christi to the downtown Frost Bank building to accommodate the smaller work force, as it was using only half of its call center at 4525 Ayers St., Hepburn said.
"We were approached by the landlord who wanted to take back the building for a former tenant," said Hepburn, who didn't know who the identity of the former tenant. "Rent costs went down and now our employees have a view of the bay."
The landlord of the Ayers Street location is listed as Commercial Net Lease Realty, an Orlando-based company now known as National Retail Property. Calls to National Retail were not returned Friday.
Roland Mower, president and CEO of the Corpus Christi Regional Economic Development Corp., said the decrease in APAC's number of employees could be because of high turnover and a company decision not to fill those positions. He said the losses are being absorbed by the community and are not making a significant impact on Corpus Christi's employment.
Hepburn would not comment on the disparity or why the company did not fill the positions.
"My guess," Mower said, "is that most of the people who left have found other jobs. I would guess the industry turnover is about 100 (percent) to 200 percent. So if a company has 100 employees, they could go through 200 employees within a year. Sometimes people quit because they had something else lined up."
APAC officials approached the Economic Development Corp. last fall saying they were thinking of leaving Corpus Christi and requested a subsidy, a grant from the city, as incentive to stay. The Economic Development Corp. board recommended the city grant a $400,000 subsidy to be paid during the course of five years in exchange for APAC maintaining at least 539 employees, Mower said.
Irma Caballero, the city's director of economic development, said the City Council should consider the subsidy in the next couple of months.
The company operates eight call centers throughout the United States, but is moving some operations offshore. It is downsizing its call center in Tucson, Ariz., and expanding facilities in the Phillippines.
Contact Fanny S. Chirinos at 886-3759 or chirinosf@caller.com
(38) User Comments:
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related links Posted by 460608 on July 7, 2007 at 6:08 a.m.
Let's see. APAC's starting is what? $2.65 an hour? Or, whatever the minimum wage is. The lost jobs were absorbed by the community. Where? Mowing lawns, house cleaning, car washes, Stripes stores, Whataburgers, not Commons it isnt opened yet.
And, APAC wants the city to hand over how much money to stay in town? With the pro-growth faction in this city they should have asked for double.
Now they are going off-shore. Where the starting salary will be next to nothing, and APAC pays no taxes.
APAC should have asked the city of Corpus Christi for triple.
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related links Posted by 414367 on July 7, 2007 at 6:49 a.m.
Any company opening businesses in other countries should be required to pay US wages and benefits. And be required to observe our anti-polutions laws.
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related links Posted by 317094 on July 7, 2007 at 9:51 a.m.
The world is always better off with fewer telephone marketers. Do not use the phone I pay for, that I have for my personal use, to market your product. Good riddance.
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related links Posted by 243280 on July 7, 2007 at 10:02 a.m.
newsman, I agree with you but APAC is an imcoming call only customer service business which provides good jobs to be used as a stepping stone to something better.
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related links Posted by 700712 on July 7, 2007 at 11:09 a.m.
APAC has always paid $6.00-$7.00/hr or more. And good benefits.
The thing is the jobs are so darn boring, that the turnover is hell. Nobody ever stays for long. And everybody knows, that having to keep training, training, traning, costs horrendous.
But it's sneaky how they have changed their profile as one of the major employers in town to none of them with nary a word to the public. God job, Caller-Times, for ferreting the truth out about this.
APAC has milked the "Economic Development" people for all they could, but when it went downhill, they went downhill real stickum.
Good riddance, APAC, I think everybody who ever wanted to work for APAC has, and never wants to again.
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related links Posted by 255027 on July 7, 2007 at 1:33 p.m.
Let all the cities, counties, states, and federal government continue to subsidize these bribery artists. It's only money! Why should ANY government agency have to give abatements, subsidies or anything else for that matter? If a company wants to come to Corpus Christi, Nueces County, or Texas, let it be because the weather is somewhat better year round, and THERE ARE willing and skilled workers, but not willing indentured servants. If someone responds with; "well, they provide jobs!" That they do is to be sure, but what kind, and how secure? People need to be paid above the poverty line level just to get by. The money that has been blown by the city, county or state to get companies to come here could have been used in so many better ways, like infrastructure (jobs), work incentive programs for teens (jobs) a better paid police force (better moral and benefits to those that watch over us). This free teat to companies that won't come here unless they get some green under the table can't and shouldn't stand anymore.
As for companies locating overseas, let's say, hmmm! Hey! Halliburton! $20 Billion for contracts in Iraq and they are moving their headquarters to Dubai to avoid paying taxes. Not a bad combination, war profiteers, and unpatriotic profiteers at that by not paying badly needed taxes to support the TROOPS they tell the world that they support so fervently. Contracts gotten by, shall we say, DUBIOUS means (Pun intended on Dubai just in case anyone missed it) with their connections to the Halliburton House...SORRY, I misspoke; I meant the Dick and George One Trick Pony Show. Who knows how many other companies are gone already, or are planning to outsource some more of their work to India, China, Mexico, ad nauseum? Just think if Congress ever really got their act together and gathered some testicular fortitude and passed a law that says, if you move out of the U. S., all laws for polluting, taxes, and penalties for not making the country they move to better for the people there (read maquiladoras) remain the same no matter where you headquarter yourselves so that the fighting men and women of the United Stated Armed Forces have the money provided by your tax dollars (since you would want the same troops to go and get you out of the country or countries you moved to save your bacon) to have the wherewithal to have only the best of everything they need, before, during, and AFTER the fight, and not just let them become homeless, forgotten "heroes" that we hold up to the limelight when there is a battle to be fought, and then drop them like a sack of rotten potatoes nobody needs or wants anymore afterwards. Hey, I have an idea, why don't these companies that go overseas adopt a battalion each and see to their needs since it is generally in their interest that battles are fought for anyway! Come on what do you say all you patriotic tax dodgers? Let's show everybody HOW BLOODY patriotic you REALLY are!
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related links Posted by 241752 on July 7, 2007 at 5:41 p.m.
Apac is not the only company in Town here to go India.
Check out First Data they were bought out by some other company. Now they are moving there business to a foreign country.
they call my house and they will get a Hang up.
or if i call one of these 1-800 #'s and some accent is on the other end. i will not do business with what ever company it is.
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related links Posted by 390982 on July 7, 2007 at 5:48 p.m.
That's what you people get for crying for more malls instead of better paying jobs, Cudos to the city council for developing shopping malls and no relevant jobs.
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related links Posted by 251916 on July 7, 2007 at 6:51 p.m.
This is where you have to be careful about offering incentives...make sure that when you do offer them, that if the company pulls out, because they think it's cheaper to do business elsewhere, that they pay for it. Offer them a lot of carrots for doing the right thing, but be prepared to whack the heck out of them with a stick if they do the wrong thing. I thought the comment made about the employees having a bay view, is kind of a cheap slap across the face to the workforce. I'd rather have stability, than a "bay view". One good thing, is that the job losses were absorbed, and that's better than NOT having those losses absorbed. I hope that the CCEDC is working on updating their website, as far as what their current projects and plans are for attracting business to the city and area. I agree with the notion that the entire coastal bend region needs to work as a region, and not in competition with each other. I have to admit, for all the bad news that could be said about the area, the good thing is that the port is strong, the La Quinta tradeport is a reality and the Joe Fulton corridor is about finished. Given that this city has such a strong base with the port, existing petrochemical facilities and a strong healthcare base, I would think the best bet would be enticing medical device manufacturers to move here. With Corpus Christi's lower costs vs. elsewhere in the country, even vs. Austin, which is a technological powerhouse, this would be a good niche area to develop and grow.
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related links Posted by 378762 on July 7, 2007 at 6:55 p.m.
I agree with jalongoria, the money spent to lure stores to the Commons, should go to court national and international business.
Yes the Commons will have stores which will hire people but those salaries will be minimum wage to probably a dolllar over and have just as much of a high turn over rate as APAC.
If Corpus is to be a player on the world market it needs to draw real business that pay higher than minimum wage salaries
and offer real incentives to keep those national based corps in Corpus.
San Antonio, Houston, Dallas, Ft. Worth, Austin did not get to where they are today by giving tax breaks and incentives so more malls could be built, no they used the tax dollars to go out and court big industry.
The powers that be will always have small town mindedness and until that mindset is wiped out Corpus will never truly compete on the world market.
Until the good old boy system is abolished in Corpus it will be business as usual and the citizens suffer because the CIty Council and others have decided Malls are more important.
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related links Posted by 698928 on July 7, 2007 at 9:36 p.m.
I worked at APAC for 2 years and was fired about 5 months ago on a lame and over-trumped violation of "rules". ( I told a customer conversationally that I had 2 minutes until I went home this was something I had done probable 100 times. Others were fired when a supervisor told them to clock in from lunch and then take another 30 minutes they didn't like the way the reps handled doing it and fired about 10 people in one day. APAC was trying its hardest to downsize without paying unemployment, and they did just that.
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related links Posted by 376168 on July 8, 2007 at 2:49 a.m.
corpus will always be a small town so get used to it. took me 40 years to get out never will miss it.
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related links Posted by 251916 on July 8, 2007 at 3:18 p.m.
Vivian,
Austin has used tif's for retail development, and I should know, as I LIVE in Austin. We just built the Domain in far north Austin, on a parcel of land that used to be the old IBM complex that had been vacated. There's going to be a lot more tax revenue and subsequential development happening as a result. It has been a huge success, and we're better for it. It's another development feather in our cap, another reason why people want to come here, and why business wants to come here. Corpus Christi doesn't have enough good retail, or attractions to make most businesses want to come there. You've got to develop all aspects of your economy, not just parts of it. you keep saying "no" to everything, going nowhere, and not improving things...and then whine and gripe about how businesses won't come? If you treat developers of proposed attractions and retail so negatively, don't you think that they don't talk about how they were treated? You've said "No" for so long, and you have nothing to offer anyone who would want to come in with the jobs. Why else do you think the Valley is putting corpus to shame? Why do you think Port Aransas and Rockport are moving forward, but CC is just stagnating. What good have you done the city and the region with your attitude?
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related links Posted by 701003 on July 9, 2007 at 6:45 a.m.
Corpus doesn't want new. Years ago Bass Pro huge store in Houston,Dallas was wanting to come into the bayfront area. Our guys said NO!!!! Corpus wants only what they want small. People it's not going to happen as long as they continue to say NO! I don't blame these guys not to come when they tag it as no better not!!
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related links Posted by 700712 on July 9, 2007 at 9:58 a.m.
San Antonio and many other towns have used TIFs to lure Japanese automakers to their towns.
Now there are jobs we all could use.
Why aren't the City's lobbyists going after the automakers? We have plenty of space for a big car factory. If First Data moves out, there's one big spot, and there's empty space next to them.
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related links Posted by 287385 on July 9, 2007 at 11:03 a.m.
Put APACs business and what you think of it aside because you are all missing the point. When ANY company sees its workforce cut in half and keeps it as much of a secret as possible, what is happening? They are not performing well enough to employ their previous numbers. How many businesses do you know of would cut their workforce and sacrifice more revenue if they had enough business to support it?
So, how much sense does it make to give $400,000.00 to a business that is not performing well? Does simply throwing money at a problem (or problems!) fix it?
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related links Posted by 700473 on July 9, 2007 at 12:08 p.m.
I think this says it all
http://www.coastalbend.com/CorpusChri...
If you cant get to this link, go to coastalbend.com
For Corpus Christi, click on that recent story for
"having to work on my own time"
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related links Posted by 702352 on July 9, 2007 at 5:28 p.m.
"Rent costs went down and now our employees have a view of the bay"---This is what APAC was pushing to their employees when they were told APAC was moving downtown. I'd rather have stability than a view by the bay. Sounds to me APAC is deciding to pull out of Corpus. APAC has always been sneaky about everything they do. I remember when a someone wanted to start a union. What happened to this person? This person got fired not for trying to start a union, but for his stats. We all know the real reason why this person got fired. I wouldn't be suprised if APAC decided to pull out next month.
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related links Posted by 699743 on July 10, 2007 at 11:40 a.m.
Are you kidding me? APAC was some of the best Sexcapades of my life...The girls there were like very plentiful and easy to date. it was a meat market as far as I'm concerned. Girls and Guys sleepingaround all over the place...Like a true life soap opera even though I only worked there for two months...Same with SITEL...WOOO WEeeeee..
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related links Posted by 252777 on July 11, 2007 at 7:24 a.m.
That place (APAC) is a gossiping mess...more so than the average workplace. I will never understand how it lasted as long as it did! The training, the "at-will" hiring and firing policy, etc....just added to the debacle. Not to mention the place was filthy....dirty! Sorry about the job loss for those who lost them, but believe me, if you get in a comfort zone at APAC....you are in real trouble and so is your future. Consider this a blessing to move on to a better place in life.
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related links Posted by 699743 on July 11, 2007 at 8:41 a.m.
You got that right! It WAS a really dirty place...I am pretty ashamed of myself for have worked in such a place. Promiscuity and all kinds of Debauchery!!! I found out some of my co-workers had caught STDs from some of the girls there. I got checked IMMEDIATELY after this and to my very fortunate suprise I was clean and then QUIT that gestation of lust and drama...
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related links Posted by 461718 on July 11, 2007 at 9:44 a.m.
so what lesson did we learn JOSE???
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related links Posted by 461718 on July 11, 2007 at 9:50 a.m.
hey so which people did they let go? the ones with all the STD's? sorry I had to throw that in...
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related links Posted by 699743 on July 11, 2007 at 10:38 a.m.
Lesson learned = Don't eat the Apple just because it's shiny and pretty...
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related links Posted by 399857 on July 11, 2007 at 11:57 a.m.
My fiance worked for apac for maybe 10 months, I didn't like his hours, so I convinced him to find a better job. After he applied a couple of places, they called his supervisor at apac to ask about my fiances performance. His Sup. was not too pleased about it. The supervisor then called my fiance into his office and told him "If you don't want to be here then leave NOW!" and pointed to the door. All because he was seeking WAY BETTER opportunities. WHAT THE HELL DOES APAC EXPECT? FOR PEOPLE TO MAKE A CARREER OUT OF ANSWERING PHONES? I'm so glad he got out of that disgusting place!
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related links Posted by 702463 on July 11, 2007 at 12:17 p.m.
I was a team lead at APAC for almost a year, and was never treated the way an employee of a "major corporation" should be treated! They were finding any way they possibly could to get rid of jobs, promised pay raises that never came to fruition, and were always making changes to "better" the company for everyone. Turns out the changes were to better the company for itself, not for everyone involved. I agree that APAC was full of drama, was basically a den of sin for sexually promiscuous people, and was not the shining example of a stellar corporation. They told people that all was well, and then pulled the rug out from underneath them in true APAC fashion. The city council simply needs to overlook any kind of subsidy or grant for this company and let them leave, because thats what they are going to do anyway! As someone not originally from here, this city needs major businesses to come in here and allow this city to expand the economy. If this city had a better economy, and more major corporate jobs, this would be an even more amazing place to live! Corpus has so much to offer, and yet does so little to attract people to it. Good riddance APAC, and to my former fellow co-workers, I am sorry if you lost your job because of this disaster of a company. The job market here is very tough, but I hope you all find something much better!
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related links Posted by 699743 on July 11, 2007 at 2:05 p.m.
It wasn't much difference at 1st data... I worked these jobs right out of High School while going to college. These aren't REAL jobs...Please...You'll never be able to support a wife and family with this hole of a job. The sad thing is that The Best Company out of the three was SITEL. At least they were cool with their people. I moved up with SITEL because of my tech experience...That helped me get into the IT field. APAC (More like 2PAC and leave) Was a worthless waste of time, except for the dating experience... The higher position managers would take advantage of their powers and sleep with all the hotties first before letting them to the rest of the denizens. Some of these girls and guys worked up the ladder to higher positions within the company just by sleeing with the right people on the management staff. I kid you not...It is SAD but I am glad it finally backfired on them. Sad to all the "Good" employees who were just trying to make through college or get some bread on the table.
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related links Posted by 699743 on July 11, 2007 at 2:14 p.m.
BTW...Everything I've been talking about was 10 years ago.
FYI
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related links Posted by 702497 on July 11, 2007 at 9:47 p.m.
Money + Greed = Failing Economy. Isnt CC a great place to live?
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related links Posted by 330390 on July 11, 2007 at 10:29 p.m.
well I worked at apac from 97-00.. I made about 10.75 an hour. but i live in waco now and have never made what I make now here in waco. And I think Waco is much smaller than Corpus and make a heck of alot more now. But I did use APAC as a stepping stone.
Sad to hear that its leaving or has downsized.
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related links Posted by 269864 on July 12, 2007 at 2:04 a.m.
I suggest Mr. Mower who gets paid to do who knows watt.....should move to the TWC building and hang with his drones.
The CCREDC is nothing more than Bloodsucking mosquitos who are paid to utilize taxpayer money to pay their "1 Shoreline plaza office rent,AEP, Water and gas bill all funded by you the sales tax paying public.
No mention that APAC is given 2500 dollars everytime they hire a "working poor" Medicaid recipient and TWC makes the "stats" look like they are finding people JOBS.
The fact is if they hire someone for one day they still recieve the 2500. So let mr. mower pay Walter Bryan who runs the place (APAC) the $400K out of his 1 million dollar budget funded by the City Of Corpus Christi Taxpayers to make money off the working poor.
Why are we paying for him to steal money and CCREDC rent at the most expensive office property in town?
Corporate Welfare in the name of "Economic Development"
The only economy they are developing is their own!
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related links Posted by 462089 on September 21, 2007 at 1:49 p.m.
Ya know if they are going to give out any money.. They should look at giving it to the poor folks like me who work there, and have to come in to work early to set up a computer and find a different chair to sit in every single day and set up programs every single day and not get paid a dime for the whole time I am doing it.. For the time that I have to come in on my own time, early again to read about the changes they made to policy that noone told anyone about.. They give us a WHOPPING 3 minutes a day, to turn on the computer, start up the programs and change the log ins and update ourself, anything over the 3 minutes and we are subject to termination.
APAC reduces workers
By Fanny S. Chirinos (Contact)
Saturday, July 7, 2007
Corpus Christi quietly has lost hundreds of jobs during the past year, the result of downsizing and high turnover at one of the city's largest employers.
The losses at APAC Customer Services occurred unannounced to the public, other than notations required in filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission because APAC is a publicly traded company. The shrouded approach was a stark contrast to the buyout tone at the company during the past few years when it told economic development officials it would be able to hire hundreds of new employees each year. In July 2006, the company ranked as the city's 10th largest employer with 1,200 employees, according to the city's Comprehensive Annual Financial Report. It now has about 620 employees.
George Hepburn, APAC's chief financial officer at the corporate office in Deerfield, Ill., said the company hasn't downsized in the past year and has had about 600 employees in Corpus Christi since last July. The company also relocated its office in Corpus Christi to the downtown Frost Bank building to accommodate the smaller work force, as it was using only half of its call center at 4525 Ayers St., Hepburn said.
"We were approached by the landlord who wanted to take back the building for a former tenant," said Hepburn, who didn't know who the identity of the former tenant. "Rent costs went down and now our employees have a view of the bay."
The landlord of the Ayers Street location is listed as Commercial Net Lease Realty, an Orlando-based company now known as National Retail Property. Calls to National Retail were not returned Friday.
Roland Mower, president and CEO of the Corpus Christi Regional Economic Development Corp., said the decrease in APAC's number of employees could be because of high turnover and a company decision not to fill those positions. He said the losses are being absorbed by the community and are not making a significant impact on Corpus Christi's employment.
Hepburn would not comment on the disparity or why the company did not fill the positions.
"My guess," Mower said, "is that most of the people who left have found other jobs. I would guess the industry turnover is about 100 (percent) to 200 percent. So if a company has 100 employees, they could go through 200 employees within a year. Sometimes people quit because they had something else lined up."
APAC officials approached the Economic Development Corp. last fall saying they were thinking of leaving Corpus Christi and requested a subsidy, a grant from the city, as incentive to stay. The Economic Development Corp. board recommended the city grant a $400,000 subsidy to be paid during the course of five years in exchange for APAC maintaining at least 539 employees, Mower said.
Irma Caballero, the city's director of economic development, said the City Council should consider the subsidy in the next couple of months.
The company operates eight call centers throughout the United States, but is moving some operations offshore. It is downsizing its call center in Tucson, Ariz., and expanding facilities in the Phillippines.
Contact Fanny S. Chirinos at 886-3759 or chirinosf@caller.com
(38) User Comments:
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related links Posted by 460608 on July 7, 2007 at 6:08 a.m.
Let's see. APAC's starting is what? $2.65 an hour? Or, whatever the minimum wage is. The lost jobs were absorbed by the community. Where? Mowing lawns, house cleaning, car washes, Stripes stores, Whataburgers, not Commons it isnt opened yet.
And, APAC wants the city to hand over how much money to stay in town? With the pro-growth faction in this city they should have asked for double.
Now they are going off-shore. Where the starting salary will be next to nothing, and APAC pays no taxes.
APAC should have asked the city of Corpus Christi for triple.
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related links Posted by 414367 on July 7, 2007 at 6:49 a.m.
Any company opening businesses in other countries should be required to pay US wages and benefits. And be required to observe our anti-polutions laws.
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related links Posted by 317094 on July 7, 2007 at 9:51 a.m.
The world is always better off with fewer telephone marketers. Do not use the phone I pay for, that I have for my personal use, to market your product. Good riddance.
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related links Posted by 243280 on July 7, 2007 at 10:02 a.m.
newsman, I agree with you but APAC is an imcoming call only customer service business which provides good jobs to be used as a stepping stone to something better.
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related links Posted by 700712 on July 7, 2007 at 11:09 a.m.
APAC has always paid $6.00-$7.00/hr or more. And good benefits.
The thing is the jobs are so darn boring, that the turnover is hell. Nobody ever stays for long. And everybody knows, that having to keep training, training, traning, costs horrendous.
But it's sneaky how they have changed their profile as one of the major employers in town to none of them with nary a word to the public. God job, Caller-Times, for ferreting the truth out about this.
APAC has milked the "Economic Development" people for all they could, but when it went downhill, they went downhill real stickum.
Good riddance, APAC, I think everybody who ever wanted to work for APAC has, and never wants to again.
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related links Posted by 255027 on July 7, 2007 at 1:33 p.m.
Let all the cities, counties, states, and federal government continue to subsidize these bribery artists. It's only money! Why should ANY government agency have to give abatements, subsidies or anything else for that matter? If a company wants to come to Corpus Christi, Nueces County, or Texas, let it be because the weather is somewhat better year round, and THERE ARE willing and skilled workers, but not willing indentured servants. If someone responds with; "well, they provide jobs!" That they do is to be sure, but what kind, and how secure? People need to be paid above the poverty line level just to get by. The money that has been blown by the city, county or state to get companies to come here could have been used in so many better ways, like infrastructure (jobs), work incentive programs for teens (jobs) a better paid police force (better moral and benefits to those that watch over us). This free teat to companies that won't come here unless they get some green under the table can't and shouldn't stand anymore.
As for companies locating overseas, let's say, hmmm! Hey! Halliburton! $20 Billion for contracts in Iraq and they are moving their headquarters to Dubai to avoid paying taxes. Not a bad combination, war profiteers, and unpatriotic profiteers at that by not paying badly needed taxes to support the TROOPS they tell the world that they support so fervently. Contracts gotten by, shall we say, DUBIOUS means (Pun intended on Dubai just in case anyone missed it) with their connections to the Halliburton House...SORRY, I misspoke; I meant the Dick and George One Trick Pony Show. Who knows how many other companies are gone already, or are planning to outsource some more of their work to India, China, Mexico, ad nauseum? Just think if Congress ever really got their act together and gathered some testicular fortitude and passed a law that says, if you move out of the U. S., all laws for polluting, taxes, and penalties for not making the country they move to better for the people there (read maquiladoras) remain the same no matter where you headquarter yourselves so that the fighting men and women of the United Stated Armed Forces have the money provided by your tax dollars (since you would want the same troops to go and get you out of the country or countries you moved to save your bacon) to have the wherewithal to have only the best of everything they need, before, during, and AFTER the fight, and not just let them become homeless, forgotten "heroes" that we hold up to the limelight when there is a battle to be fought, and then drop them like a sack of rotten potatoes nobody needs or wants anymore afterwards. Hey, I have an idea, why don't these companies that go overseas adopt a battalion each and see to their needs since it is generally in their interest that battles are fought for anyway! Come on what do you say all you patriotic tax dodgers? Let's show everybody HOW BLOODY patriotic you REALLY are!
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related links Posted by 241752 on July 7, 2007 at 5:41 p.m.
Apac is not the only company in Town here to go India.
Check out First Data they were bought out by some other company. Now they are moving there business to a foreign country.
they call my house and they will get a Hang up.
or if i call one of these 1-800 #'s and some accent is on the other end. i will not do business with what ever company it is.
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related links Posted by 390982 on July 7, 2007 at 5:48 p.m.
That's what you people get for crying for more malls instead of better paying jobs, Cudos to the city council for developing shopping malls and no relevant jobs.
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related links Posted by 251916 on July 7, 2007 at 6:51 p.m.
This is where you have to be careful about offering incentives...make sure that when you do offer them, that if the company pulls out, because they think it's cheaper to do business elsewhere, that they pay for it. Offer them a lot of carrots for doing the right thing, but be prepared to whack the heck out of them with a stick if they do the wrong thing. I thought the comment made about the employees having a bay view, is kind of a cheap slap across the face to the workforce. I'd rather have stability, than a "bay view". One good thing, is that the job losses were absorbed, and that's better than NOT having those losses absorbed. I hope that the CCEDC is working on updating their website, as far as what their current projects and plans are for attracting business to the city and area. I agree with the notion that the entire coastal bend region needs to work as a region, and not in competition with each other. I have to admit, for all the bad news that could be said about the area, the good thing is that the port is strong, the La Quinta tradeport is a reality and the Joe Fulton corridor is about finished. Given that this city has such a strong base with the port, existing petrochemical facilities and a strong healthcare base, I would think the best bet would be enticing medical device manufacturers to move here. With Corpus Christi's lower costs vs. elsewhere in the country, even vs. Austin, which is a technological powerhouse, this would be a good niche area to develop and grow.
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related links Posted by 378762 on July 7, 2007 at 6:55 p.m.
I agree with jalongoria, the money spent to lure stores to the Commons, should go to court national and international business.
Yes the Commons will have stores which will hire people but those salaries will be minimum wage to probably a dolllar over and have just as much of a high turn over rate as APAC.
If Corpus is to be a player on the world market it needs to draw real business that pay higher than minimum wage salaries
and offer real incentives to keep those national based corps in Corpus.
San Antonio, Houston, Dallas, Ft. Worth, Austin did not get to where they are today by giving tax breaks and incentives so more malls could be built, no they used the tax dollars to go out and court big industry.
The powers that be will always have small town mindedness and until that mindset is wiped out Corpus will never truly compete on the world market.
Until the good old boy system is abolished in Corpus it will be business as usual and the citizens suffer because the CIty Council and others have decided Malls are more important.
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related links Posted by 698928 on July 7, 2007 at 9:36 p.m.
I worked at APAC for 2 years and was fired about 5 months ago on a lame and over-trumped violation of "rules". ( I told a customer conversationally that I had 2 minutes until I went home this was something I had done probable 100 times. Others were fired when a supervisor told them to clock in from lunch and then take another 30 minutes they didn't like the way the reps handled doing it and fired about 10 people in one day. APAC was trying its hardest to downsize without paying unemployment, and they did just that.
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related links Posted by 376168 on July 8, 2007 at 2:49 a.m.
corpus will always be a small town so get used to it. took me 40 years to get out never will miss it.
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related links Posted by 251916 on July 8, 2007 at 3:18 p.m.
Vivian,
Austin has used tif's for retail development, and I should know, as I LIVE in Austin. We just built the Domain in far north Austin, on a parcel of land that used to be the old IBM complex that had been vacated. There's going to be a lot more tax revenue and subsequential development happening as a result. It has been a huge success, and we're better for it. It's another development feather in our cap, another reason why people want to come here, and why business wants to come here. Corpus Christi doesn't have enough good retail, or attractions to make most businesses want to come there. You've got to develop all aspects of your economy, not just parts of it. you keep saying "no" to everything, going nowhere, and not improving things...and then whine and gripe about how businesses won't come? If you treat developers of proposed attractions and retail so negatively, don't you think that they don't talk about how they were treated? You've said "No" for so long, and you have nothing to offer anyone who would want to come in with the jobs. Why else do you think the Valley is putting corpus to shame? Why do you think Port Aransas and Rockport are moving forward, but CC is just stagnating. What good have you done the city and the region with your attitude?
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related links Posted by 701003 on July 9, 2007 at 6:45 a.m.
Corpus doesn't want new. Years ago Bass Pro huge store in Houston,Dallas was wanting to come into the bayfront area. Our guys said NO!!!! Corpus wants only what they want small. People it's not going to happen as long as they continue to say NO! I don't blame these guys not to come when they tag it as no better not!!
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related links Posted by 700712 on July 9, 2007 at 9:58 a.m.
San Antonio and many other towns have used TIFs to lure Japanese automakers to their towns.
Now there are jobs we all could use.
Why aren't the City's lobbyists going after the automakers? We have plenty of space for a big car factory. If First Data moves out, there's one big spot, and there's empty space next to them.
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related links Posted by 287385 on July 9, 2007 at 11:03 a.m.
Put APACs business and what you think of it aside because you are all missing the point. When ANY company sees its workforce cut in half and keeps it as much of a secret as possible, what is happening? They are not performing well enough to employ their previous numbers. How many businesses do you know of would cut their workforce and sacrifice more revenue if they had enough business to support it?
So, how much sense does it make to give $400,000.00 to a business that is not performing well? Does simply throwing money at a problem (or problems!) fix it?
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related links Posted by 700473 on July 9, 2007 at 12:08 p.m.
I think this says it all
http://www.coastalbend.com/CorpusChri...
If you cant get to this link, go to coastalbend.com
For Corpus Christi, click on that recent story for
"having to work on my own time"
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related links Posted by 702352 on July 9, 2007 at 5:28 p.m.
"Rent costs went down and now our employees have a view of the bay"---This is what APAC was pushing to their employees when they were told APAC was moving downtown. I'd rather have stability than a view by the bay. Sounds to me APAC is deciding to pull out of Corpus. APAC has always been sneaky about everything they do. I remember when a someone wanted to start a union. What happened to this person? This person got fired not for trying to start a union, but for his stats. We all know the real reason why this person got fired. I wouldn't be suprised if APAC decided to pull out next month.
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related links Posted by 699743 on July 10, 2007 at 11:40 a.m.
Are you kidding me? APAC was some of the best Sexcapades of my life...The girls there were like very plentiful and easy to date. it was a meat market as far as I'm concerned. Girls and Guys sleepingaround all over the place...Like a true life soap opera even though I only worked there for two months...Same with SITEL...WOOO WEeeeee..
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related links Posted by 252777 on July 11, 2007 at 7:24 a.m.
That place (APAC) is a gossiping mess...more so than the average workplace. I will never understand how it lasted as long as it did! The training, the "at-will" hiring and firing policy, etc....just added to the debacle. Not to mention the place was filthy....dirty! Sorry about the job loss for those who lost them, but believe me, if you get in a comfort zone at APAC....you are in real trouble and so is your future. Consider this a blessing to move on to a better place in life.
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related links Posted by 699743 on July 11, 2007 at 8:41 a.m.
You got that right! It WAS a really dirty place...I am pretty ashamed of myself for have worked in such a place. Promiscuity and all kinds of Debauchery!!! I found out some of my co-workers had caught STDs from some of the girls there. I got checked IMMEDIATELY after this and to my very fortunate suprise I was clean and then QUIT that gestation of lust and drama...
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related links Posted by 461718 on July 11, 2007 at 9:44 a.m.
so what lesson did we learn JOSE???
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related links Posted by 461718 on July 11, 2007 at 9:50 a.m.
hey so which people did they let go? the ones with all the STD's? sorry I had to throw that in...
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related links Posted by 699743 on July 11, 2007 at 10:38 a.m.
Lesson learned = Don't eat the Apple just because it's shiny and pretty...
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related links Posted by 399857 on July 11, 2007 at 11:57 a.m.
My fiance worked for apac for maybe 10 months, I didn't like his hours, so I convinced him to find a better job. After he applied a couple of places, they called his supervisor at apac to ask about my fiances performance. His Sup. was not too pleased about it. The supervisor then called my fiance into his office and told him "If you don't want to be here then leave NOW!" and pointed to the door. All because he was seeking WAY BETTER opportunities. WHAT THE HELL DOES APAC EXPECT? FOR PEOPLE TO MAKE A CARREER OUT OF ANSWERING PHONES? I'm so glad he got out of that disgusting place!
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related links Posted by 702463 on July 11, 2007 at 12:17 p.m.
I was a team lead at APAC for almost a year, and was never treated the way an employee of a "major corporation" should be treated! They were finding any way they possibly could to get rid of jobs, promised pay raises that never came to fruition, and were always making changes to "better" the company for everyone. Turns out the changes were to better the company for itself, not for everyone involved. I agree that APAC was full of drama, was basically a den of sin for sexually promiscuous people, and was not the shining example of a stellar corporation. They told people that all was well, and then pulled the rug out from underneath them in true APAC fashion. The city council simply needs to overlook any kind of subsidy or grant for this company and let them leave, because thats what they are going to do anyway! As someone not originally from here, this city needs major businesses to come in here and allow this city to expand the economy. If this city had a better economy, and more major corporate jobs, this would be an even more amazing place to live! Corpus has so much to offer, and yet does so little to attract people to it. Good riddance APAC, and to my former fellow co-workers, I am sorry if you lost your job because of this disaster of a company. The job market here is very tough, but I hope you all find something much better!
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related links Posted by 699743 on July 11, 2007 at 2:05 p.m.
It wasn't much difference at 1st data... I worked these jobs right out of High School while going to college. These aren't REAL jobs...Please...You'll never be able to support a wife and family with this hole of a job. The sad thing is that The Best Company out of the three was SITEL. At least they were cool with their people. I moved up with SITEL because of my tech experience...That helped me get into the IT field. APAC (More like 2PAC and leave) Was a worthless waste of time, except for the dating experience... The higher position managers would take advantage of their powers and sleep with all the hotties first before letting them to the rest of the denizens. Some of these girls and guys worked up the ladder to higher positions within the company just by sleeing with the right people on the management staff. I kid you not...It is SAD but I am glad it finally backfired on them. Sad to all the "Good" employees who were just trying to make through college or get some bread on the table.
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related links Posted by 699743 on July 11, 2007 at 2:14 p.m.
BTW...Everything I've been talking about was 10 years ago.
FYI
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related links Posted by 702497 on July 11, 2007 at 9:47 p.m.
Money + Greed = Failing Economy. Isnt CC a great place to live?
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related links Posted by 330390 on July 11, 2007 at 10:29 p.m.
well I worked at apac from 97-00.. I made about 10.75 an hour. but i live in waco now and have never made what I make now here in waco. And I think Waco is much smaller than Corpus and make a heck of alot more now. But I did use APAC as a stepping stone.
Sad to hear that its leaving or has downsized.
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related links Posted by 269864 on July 12, 2007 at 2:04 a.m.
I suggest Mr. Mower who gets paid to do who knows watt.....should move to the TWC building and hang with his drones.
The CCREDC is nothing more than Bloodsucking mosquitos who are paid to utilize taxpayer money to pay their "1 Shoreline plaza office rent,AEP, Water and gas bill all funded by you the sales tax paying public.
No mention that APAC is given 2500 dollars everytime they hire a "working poor" Medicaid recipient and TWC makes the "stats" look like they are finding people JOBS.
The fact is if they hire someone for one day they still recieve the 2500. So let mr. mower pay Walter Bryan who runs the place (APAC) the $400K out of his 1 million dollar budget funded by the City Of Corpus Christi Taxpayers to make money off the working poor.
Why are we paying for him to steal money and CCREDC rent at the most expensive office property in town?
Corporate Welfare in the name of "Economic Development"
The only economy they are developing is their own!
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related links Posted by 462089 on September 21, 2007 at 1:49 p.m.
Ya know if they are going to give out any money.. They should look at giving it to the poor folks like me who work there, and have to come in to work early to set up a computer and find a different chair to sit in every single day and set up programs every single day and not get paid a dime for the whole time I am doing it.. For the time that I have to come in on my own time, early again to read about the changes they made to policy that noone told anyone about.. They give us a WHOPPING 3 minutes a day, to turn on the computer, start up the programs and change the log ins and update ourself, anything over the 3 minutes and we are subject to termination.
Labels: 13th Court of Appeals, Fraud, Mary Cano
posted by dannoynted1 @ 6:06 AM
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