Bell Mobility has axed “hundreds” of positions at its Mississauga call centre, said shocked employees after learning the news on Wednesday.

Bell spokesman Mark Langton confirmed positions had been cut at the Creekbank Rd. centre, but would not provide a number.

However, several employees who contacted the Star said between 300 and 500 people lost their jobs.

“I’m absolutely appalled” by Bell’s actions, said one employee who was initially told her job was safe, only to later find out she was being let go.

Langton said cuts were in part because of expansion at call centres in Vancouver and Montreal — extended hours at the former and more bilingual/French service at the latter.

Employees, however, blamed the cutbacks on workers’ recent, unsuccessful attempt to unionize, as well as outsourcing.

Langton said neither was the case; Bell is a “heavily unionized” company, and the workers at centres in Vancouver and Montreal are Bell employees, he said.

“Those that depart will get appropriate severance,” he said, adding that overall, Bell is growing its ranks of customer service employees.

The company plans to help those who lost their jobs find other positions within Bell, which employs almost 60,000 across the country.

Creekbank, second in size to the Montreal headquarters, employs thousands across various Bell departments.

One Creekbank employee, currently on leave, said she was moved to a technical support job a couple of years ago after her previous position was outsourced.

“Employees were shocked” on Wednesday, she added. “We didn’t expect it at all — everyone thought we were okay.”

The employee who was wrongly assured her job was safe said she received $8,000 in severance for five years of work.

“They were looking for my name on a list, and couldn’t find my name,” said the single mother of two boys. “They dug through and brought up my package and said ‘yes, you are laid off.’ ”

Employees were advised of a work transition program to help find another job within Bell, “but,” she added, “who wants to go back there? Nobody.”

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

Current layoffs also affected managers, she said.

“I don’t know what my options are,” she added. “I don’t know what positions are available with this harsh economy . . . it’s going to be hard.”