Layoffs at two companies to cost at least 110 local jobs

Two companies will lay off more than 110 local employees next year, according to notices filed with the state.

Pitney Bowes, a technology company based in Stamford, Conn., will close its Chesapeake call center in June, eliminating 64 jobs, spokesman Matt Broder said. BASF, a German chemical company, will cut about 50 workers at a plant in Suffolk.

The notices were posted on a state website that reports layoffs and business closures in Virginia, as required by the U.S. Worker Readjustment and Retraining Notification Act.

At Pitney Bowes, the layoffs will come in three waves, with the first taking effect Feb. 22, Broder said.

"We have several call centers we operate around the country," he said. "This was one of the smaller ones. We have the opportunity to consolidate and become more efficient."

The closing, Broder said, is not due to financial problems at the company, which produces hardware and software and offers document and shipping services.

"We're like a lot of companies," he said. "We're constantly looking to see where we can improve our operations and become more efficient, because competitive pressures are pretty tough these days."

The center has grown significantly smaller since 2009, when it had about 150 employees, Broder said. "It's all part of the same process that led to the decision to close the facility."

The closure of the call center won't affect other local Pitney Bowes offices, Broder said.

BASF plans to shut down some operations at its Suffolk plant. They include production of polyacrylamide beads, which are used to separate solids from liquids in water treatment and oil mining operations, according to a news release. The production of those beads will be consolidated at a plant in Great Britain.

"The shift of the bead production from Suffolk to Bradford is another step in our strategy to optimize our production assets globally so that we ensure competitive bead supply to our customers in North America, which will remain a key region for the growing oilfield and mining industries," said Denise M. Joost, BASF's head of oilfield and mining chemicals business in North America, in the release.

The company employs about 150 workers at its site on Wilroy Road, said Maureen Paukert, a New Jersey-based spokeswoman for the company. The layoffs, which will take effect in January, will bring that number to around 100.

Philip Walzer, (757) 222-3864, phil.walzer@pilotonline.com

Josh Brown, (757) 446-2318, josh.brown@pilotonline.com