Lateness and absenteeism are among the reasons given by Teleperformance for closing down one of its operations in Guyana,  Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo has revealed.

Teleperformance, which is one of the largest call centre companies in Guyana recently closed its Robb and Camp Street location in Georgetown. The company laid off more than 800 workers over the past six months as it faced a number of clients withdrawing their business.

However, at a press conference on Thursday, Vice President Jagdeo said Minister responsible for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh is expected to meet with Teleperformance, and other companies in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Sector to have a deeper understanding of the challenges confronting them.

 However, he said a preliminary report from the company suggests that lateness and absenteeism are among the reasons given for its decision to close one of its operations.

“I asked Ashni Singh what are you being told, and he said that they have spoken about absenteeism, the lack of punctuality and a couple of cases of fraud but mainly absenteeism, and lack of punctuality. And you know, they operate in a very competitive sector. So you have clients are abroad, so if nobody is there, you can’t keep the quality of the service up,” the Vice President said.

Jagdeo said it would appear that persons were seeking employment in other industries and sectors.

At least five of Teleperformance’s major clients ended their contracts with the company since last August. With the loss of those contracts, the employees who were attached to those clients were laid off. In total, between August 2024 and February 2025, the company laid off more than 800 of its staff members.

The Vice President said the meeting with the Finance Minister and the BPO companies would help the Government to better understand not only the challenges confronting them, but the number of workers likely to be affected.

“For those who generally are affected and want to work, we will engage them, the Guyanese. Because we believe that the economy is kicking to such an extent that we could easily find alternate employment for people who may be affected in this area. So, are addressing this issue too because anything affects our people, we have an obligation to address,” the Vice President said.

The call centre business in Guyana has been slowing over the past year. Last year, another major provider in the industry, Itel, completely shut down its Guyana operations. More than 400 workers were laid off by that company. Itel said the cost for doing business in Guyana has been rising substantially, and it could no longer keep up.

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