Syracuse, NY -- Verizon Communications will hire 335 new employees over the next two or three years for highly paid union and management jobs at the company's fast-growing FiOS call center on Thompson Road, in the Syracuse suburb of DeWitt.
Starting salaries will vary based on experience, but within four or five years all the new workers will earn at least $50,000 a year -- above average for the Syracuse area.
The jobs stem from the nationwide growth of Verizon's 3-year-old service called FiOS (pronounced FI-ose), which allows customers to receive combinations of phone, Internet and TV service over high-speed fiber-optic cables.
Verizon more than doubled the number of FiOS subscribers last year to 1.5 million in 17 states. The company adds more than 80,000 customers a month, according to its latest quarterly report.
The Fiber Solutions Center in DeWitt is one of eight locations nationwide where Verizon workers provide customers with information and technical support. Call center employees also support technicians in the field during installations.
When the Fiber Solutions Center opened in 2005, Verizon officials predicted it would employ 150 people by 2007. The staff now numbers 400, said Jeff Bell, director of operations, and he expects to hire 335 more over the next two to three years.
"They're good jobs," Bell said. "People come in at varying starting salaries, but once they get to what we call 'top salary,' they will easily make in excess of $50,000 before overtime."
To make way for the new workers, Verizon recently spent $6 million to renovate 30,000 square feet of office space in a warehouse at its complex at 6360 Thompson Road.
Most of the new employees will be fiber customer support analysts, who answer incoming calls from customers for service orders, technical support and troubleshooting. The DeWitt call center serves customers nationwide.
Verizon also will hire fiber network technicians, who support field technicians during FiOS installations, mainly in New York state.
Managers also will be hired as the staff grows, Bell said.
Verizon made a bold decision several years ago to replace its aging network of copper wires with fiber-optic cables, enlarging the capacity to carry Internet and television traffic in addition to telephone calls. The company continues to build out its fiber network, which passes about 9.3 million homes and businesses.
Verizon plans to extend the reach of its fiber to another 3 million potential customers by the end of 2008. By 2010, the FiOS network is expected to pass 18 million homes and businesses.
Verizon officials declined to comment on their timetable for expanding the FiOS network in Central New York. Company officials also declined to say when they plan to introduce FiOS TV in this area.
About 5.9 million of the 9.3 million homes passed by Verizon's fiber network can order TV service, but the company has not yet installed the equipment or obtained the necessary cable franchises to offer TV here.
Central New York is fortunate to get FiOS jobs, because fiber-based communications is a growth engine for Verizon, said Chris Ryan, executive vice president of Local 1123 of Communications Workers of America, which represents local Verizon employees.
If Verizon eliminates jobs associated with its legacy copper network, local employees can transfer to the Fiber Solutions Center, he said.
"It allows our membership to grow into the future," Ryan said. "As we move from a copper-based company to a multimedia company, we have first crack at these jobs, and they're actually in our hometown."
Verizon's union employees earn higher-than-average salaries. Even the least-experienced new workers at the call center, who start at the lowest salary level, would reach the top salary level within four or five years, depending on the job, Ryan said.
The median annual salary for U.S. workers was $36,400 during the fourth quarter of 2007, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
In Central New York, the median pay for male full-time workers in Cayuga, Madison, Onondaga and Oswego counties was $42,975 in 2006, according to the Census Bureau. The median salary for female full-time employees was $31,606
