WATERLOO -- One of Waterloo's largest employers will close in March, citing business reasons. APAC Customer Services Inc. will close its Waterloo call center, 2325 Crossroads Blvd., around March 10.

Karen Tulloch, spokeswoman for APAC, said employees were notified Monday of the call center's closing. The call center employs about 300 people.

"Anytime we have a business close in the Cedar Valley, it is unfortunate because it means that people who are depending on that paycheck are going to be in the market for another job," said Steve Dust, president of the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance.

Dust said the decision was likely based on several outside factors, such as effects of the Do-Not-Call registry and overall market conditions, rather than performance at the Waterloo location.

"It's not a reflection on the Cedar Valley, but rather it's a reflection of what's going on in their business overall," Dust said.

Indeed, the announcement seems to center more on the industry's conditions. APAC announced in July it would be putting in a restructuring plan. The plan had APAC abandoning nearly all its outbound customer acquisition business, closing more than half its customer interaction centers and eliminating more than 400 salaried positions.

Closing the Waterloo call center was another step. "It's continuing to execute on our restructuring plan we've already announced," Tulloch said.

Even prior to the plan being announced, APAC had been shutting down call centers in Iowa, including ones located in Cedar Rapids, Burlington, Mason City and Ottumwa.

According to the company's most recent quarterly report, APAC's net earnings for the third quarter of 2005 was $56.3 million, down 12.8 percent from $64.6 million in the same period in 2004.

"Again, (it's) disappointing, but not entirely a surprise in that industry," Dust said.

APAC was once one of the Cedar Valley's largest employers, with more than 800 employees as recently as 2002. By 2004, that number had fallen to 460.

APAC first entered the Cedar Valley area in 1992 with a call center in the College Hill area of Cedar Falls. The Crossroads location was added in 1996.

With a plant closing such as this one, companies are required to file notice 60 days before closing with Iowa Workforce Development. Ted Harms, Rapid Response coordinator with Iowa Workforce Development, received the notice Tuesday morning.

The notice triggers a Rapid Response team to assist displaced workers with filing for unemployment and learning about available options.

Dust is hopeful that some of the area's other call centers may be looking to hire APAC employees.

"We have a good number of customer service operations in the Cedar Valley that are growing and we hope that those can accommodate those that are losing their jobs because of this shutdown," Dust said.

Tulloch said APAC jobs may be available at some of the company's other call centers, such as their large operation in Davenport. "A relocation is always a possibility for those willing to make such a move," Tulloch said.

Dust said the GCVA will also begin marketing the building as soon as possible.

Contact RC Balaban at (319) 291-1418 or rc.balaban@wcfcourier.com.