Performant Recovery has filed a notice with the state of Oregon that it is planning on laying off 60 employees at its location in Grants Pass, Ore., and will not bring back 31 employees who had been furloughed, citing the COVID-19 pandemic and changes to student loan collections as the reasons for the layoffs.
The layoffs will take place between April 25 and May 7, according to the notice that was filed with the Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission.
It was unclear exactly how many employees work at the Grants Pass location, but published reports put the number as high as 400 that worked there seven years ago. Performant is considered to be one of the largest employers in Grants Pass, which is just north of the border between Oregon and California. The city has a population of 37,000.
“Numerous changes brought about by the COVID-19 global pandemic, together with recent government decisions regarding federal student loan processing, haver significantly impacted our recovery business, resulting in these employment changes,” wrote Julie Snyder, the senior director of human resources, in a letter accompanying the layoff notice filed with the state. “While we are actively exploring strategic options that may provide continued work opportunities for some employees, we cannot guarantee that these opportunities will materialize.”
Performant lists locations in Livermore, Calif., Lathrop, Calif., Grants Pass, Sunrise, Fla., and San Angelo, Texas, on its website.
Of the 91 workers being let go, 47 are customer service representatives, according to the notification. The rest encompass an array of job titles from logistics to retention specialist to team managers.
One of the agencies tasked with helping provide the employees with retraining opportunities and information about benefits available to unemployed individuals said this was “one of the larger layoffs” the city has seen in recent years.
