A global company that opened an office in Lee’s Summit a year and a half ago to much fanfare is shutting down its roadside assistance operation, affecting 82 positions.
ExlService.com notified Missouri economic development officials last week that it will cease the operation effective Jan. 31 and would lay off 31 Exl employees. Another 51 employees of two recruiting firms, Allied Global Services and Aerotek Inc., that contracted with Exl will also lose their jobs, but those workers will be reassigned.
Exl, which is based in New York and boasts more than 31,000 employees worldwide, provides operations management and data analytics services for business clients. The Lee’s Summit operation provided roadside assistance to stranded motorists who were insured by one of Exl’s insurance company clients.
Exl announced the opening of the Lee’s Summit office in June 2018 and said it would hire at least 250 workers to staff it. Lee’s Summit economic development officials hailed it as the largest new job creation announcement in the city in five years.
Reached on Monday, Rick McDowell, president of the Lee’s Summit Economic Development Council, said he was unaware of the imminent closure of the roadside assistance operation.
“It’s news to me,” he said.
Exl officials could not be reached for comment.
In 2018, Exl posted revenues of $883 million, up nearly 16%, and earnings of $56.7 million.
Correction: A previous headline over this story incorrectly stated that the Lee's Summit office had closed. The office remains open.
Dan Margolies is a senior reporter and editor at KCUR. You can reach him on Twitter @DanMargolies.
