MCI Cutting Staff at Springfield Calling Center

About 400 jobs paying $15-an-hour in Springfield are going away because telemarketing trends are changing. MCI is laying off most of the workers at its call center. A spokesman says more and more of those jobs are being sent to India and the Philippines. Increased use of cell phones and the internet also have eaten into telemarketing business and so have do-not-call lists. It’s the latest, and apparently final, big layoff at the call center, which once had 1,300 workers.