Nearly 300 people in Barrie will soon be out of a job, as Transcom closes its Barrie operation.

Transcom, a customer service centre, told its employees on Monday that it was restructuring the company. A company spokesperson tells CTV News that the traditional way of running a business is no longer viable, and that Transcom would be moving to an offshore operation and work at home model.

“The way consumers want to receive service is not necessarily always voice to voice. We have several generations who are very comfortable with instant response through text or email,” says Caroline Spivak, a company spokesperson. “They don't want to wait for a call queue. These problems can be resolved much more quickly through technology.”

The spokesperson says the decision to close was made last fall, but delayed announcing it until after the holidays.

The decision means that 280 people in Barrie will be let go. The company spokesperson says employees will be given a severance package. Current employees will also be able to apply to other positions in the company.

Employees tell CTV News they were shocked and weren’t expecting the closure because of how successful the company has been.

Natasha Bottineau was hoping to work part time at Transcom while she finished college.

“Now I'm forced to look for a new job and that's adding extra stress. My roommate also works at Transcom and now we're losing income,” she says.

On its website, Transcom boasts that its revenue in 2016 was €582 million EUR or more than $883 million CAD.

Client services will end on March 31. The Transcom centre will then close on April 10.