Dish Network to close Pittsburgh-area call center

MCKEESPORT, Pa. (AP) — Satellite TV provider Dish Network says it will close a customer service call center near Pittsburgh, idling 600 workers.

Dish Network says the center in McKeesport will close March 5. McKeesport is about 15 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.

The company based in Englewood, Colo., says in a statement that the McKeesport site doesn’t meet the company’s “business needs.” Dish Network says it isn’t closing any other call centers in the country.

The company says it will host job fairs and otherwise try to help affected workers find other jobs.

The call center opened in 1998 and was a major employer in this city of about 20,000 that housed United State Steel Corp.’s National Tube Works until 1987. At its peak, the tube plant employed about 8,000 people.