JPMorgan Chase officials announced Friday they will stop using Indian call centers to answer customer service questions from Floridians on food stamps.

The announcement was made the same day the state’s unemployment rate climbed to 9.7 percent, the highest since 1975.

“No future calls will go to India,” Department of Children and Families Secretary George Sheldon said. “This is permanent.”

The Palm Beach Post published a story Thursday about the frustration of a Jupiter woman who reached a customer service call center in India while trying to obtain state assistance. The state contracts with JPMorgan Chase to run parts of the Florida food stamp program and uses two customer service centers in India. The company will instead route calls to its centers in Ohio and Illinois.

“The state has indicated to us they want to bring these calls to the U.S.,” said JPMorgan spokesman John Murray. “We’re working with them to do so.”

More here.

Tags: food stamps, state agencies, unemployment

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