American Airlines closing Reno call center, about 100 employees affected

American Airlines is closing a call center in Reno after more than three decades.

The airline told the Reno Gazette Journal on Monday that it plans to close its Reno reservation center next year in March. The center employs about 100 people.

“We have a lot of unused reservation center space that we have in our other call centers so it makes sense to consolidate that a little bit,” said Joshua Freed, an American Airlines spokesman. The Reno center "is one of the small ones so it makes more sense to get people in the big centers, especially since there’s space available.”

The Reno center staff represents less than 2% of American Airlines’ reservation workforce of 5,800. Employees at the center will be offered relocation assistance if they decide to transfer to a different reservation center, Freed said. Those who decline to move will be given severance pay.

More:Reno just got ranked the 6th-most dynamic mid-size city in U.S. — what does it mean?

The Reno call center was established in 1987 by America West Airlines. Ownership of the call center switched after the regional airline announced a merger with US Airways in 2005. In 2013, US Airways merged with American Airlines.

American Airlines runs five call centers in the United States, including at Dallas-Fort Worth and Phoenix, as well another nine outside the U.S., Freed said. The number of domestic call centers will be down to four once the Reno center closes.

More flights:Frontier Airlines launches new service from Reno to Las Vegas with $29 flights

Jason Hidalgo covers business and technology for the Reno Gazette Journal, and also reviews video games as part of his Technobubble features. Follow him on Twitter @jasonhidalgo. Like this content? Support local journalism with an RGJ digital subscription.