Home Depot to Close Three Call Centers

Atlanta The Home Depot Inc. is closing three call centers that serve its home services business, cutting about 950 jobs, according to a Reuters report.

The centers include one in Tampa, Fla., that has about 751 workers, and two smaller ones in Chicago and Dallas that each employ about 100 people, the report said. The centers work with customers to facilitate installations of doors and other products.

Though the collapsing housing market has hurt demand for bigger-ticket installed projects, Home Depot spokesman Ron DeFeo said the closures were intended to make the installation process more efficient by giving customers one local point of contact with the store instead of multiple ones, the report said.

The company posted a 27% drop in third-quarter profit last month and forecast a steeper fall in full-year earnings as the slumping housing market cut into sales.