PRA Group has scaled back on plans to open a new call center in Danville, Va., and has also delayed the timeline for opening the new facility, according to a published report.
After originally committing to hiring 500 employees for the call center and investing $15 million, PRA will now hire 300 individuals and spend $11 million, according to the report. The company plans to open the call center early next year, after originally being scheduled to open at some point in 2019.
As a result of the changes, PRA Group will receive a smaller amount of incentives from state and local authorities. Originally, the company was due to receive nearly $2.5 million in grants and $1.7 million in loans, but those amounts are now being renegotiated.
In an email, a spokeswoman for PRA Group cited “a heavier reliance on digital communications,” changes in the types of portfolios the company is purchasing, and a “strategic shift” in the “optimal” size of its call centers.
The Danville facility will be PRA Group’s third call center in Virginia when it opens.
PRA Group is still negotiating the sale of the building it plans to use, which previously housed a call center operated by Telvista. The purchase price for the building is said to be as high as $6 million.
The company said it will need about six months once the sale is complete to make renovations to the building.
“Once the renovations are complete, we will begin operations,” the company spokeswoman said, according to the report. “Job fairs will begin off site soon after we close on the building so that we can begin operations as soon as the renovations are complete.”
