A Portland cable and internet-service provider is laying off 176 workers from its call center, transitioning their work to other facilities around the country.
A Charter Communications spokesperson said Portland employees can relocate to other customer-service locations.
Those who do not relocate will receive regular pay for 90 days, and then severance and other benefits.
The sudden job cuts come just days after sandwich giant Subway went dark across Maine.
Seven Subways lost their business registration licenses earlier this week, though a company spokesman said officials were trying to resolve the problem.
Charter Communications, which owns the internet service provider Spectrum, cut 1,200 corporate-management jobs earlier this year in the wake of layoffs at its Worcester, Massachusetts call center.
Cable giant Charter reported losing 109,000 Internet customers in the third quarter of this year.
Major cable companies like Charter (Spectrum) and Verizon have been forced to downsize and focus more on broadband and mobile, to combat subscriber losses from “streaming.”
Customers are ditching traditional cable TV for cheaper streaming services.
