Sitel yesterday provided local economic development officials with more details about its decision to close its Andalusia call center in the spring, saying markets this size don’t fit into their business plan.

In September of 2015, Groupe Acticall of France acquired Sitel, which now has 75,000 employees at 146 sites serving 40 countries in 48 languages. Groupe Acticall operates in France, Morocco, the United States, and Brazil.

The company also wanted to give local employees more notice of its plans than legally required, which would give them more time to prepare for the opportunity to fill the company’s Work-at-Home jobs, which it currently is advertising in Alabama and other states.

“Sitel has had the honor of working in the Andalusia area for 15 successful years,” corporate spokeswoman

Shirley Loebsack said in a statement to the Covington County Economic Development Commission. “Unfortunately, our business model does not allow for us to remain in this market after April 1st, 2017. Our decision to make this announcement to associates and to the community at this time of year was two-fold, 1) we wanted to provide our associates more than the legal 60-day notice requirement in order to provide as much time and resources as possible to assist them with career options and 2) we have numerous Sitel Work-at-Home employment opportunities for these agents and an early announcement allows additional time for associates to be Work-at-Home ready.

“All associates are able to apply for other positions within the company, including Work@Home opportunities,” the statement said. “Sitel leadership also intends to proactively partner with local resources and other area employers to identify potential employment opportunities for impacted associates.

“This has been a very difficult decision with the 15 years of service that has been provided to this community by our Sitel associates,” Loebsack said. “Sitel Andalusia leadership is working to provide as much open and proactive communication as possible to ensure the most efficient transition for clients, associates and the community.”