TeKnowledge, a global company that provides technology services to businesses and governments with a focus on artificial intelligence-first expert services, will permanently lay off more than 300 of its employees in Colorado Springs.
The company, founded in 2010 with more than 19 global hubs in North and South America, including in Colorado Springs, as well as Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Europe, announced just ahead of the Labor Day weekend it will eliminate 324 employees at its Colorado Springs facility at 1150 Kelly Johnson Blvd., Suite 100.
TeKnowledge notified the state about the permanent layoffs, expected to take place between Oct. 30 and Dec. 30, in a written letter under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act on Friday. The law requires employers, in most cases, to provide employees with 60 days’ notice of job eliminations.
“In response to changing client demand, significant changes in the global technology landscape, economic conditions and industry structure, (TeKnowledge) has made the difficult decision to substantially reduce its operations and workforce at the Colorado Springs facility,” the company said in part in its notice.
A majority of the eliminated positions, 120, are Stage 2 technical support engineers. Other positions that will see the most employees eliminated include 22 additional Stage 1 and Stage 3 technical support engineers, 41 reactive support managers, 34 fintech analysts II, 22 team managers and 22 technical leads. Various other positions will also be eliminated, according to a list included in the WARN letter.
TeKnowledge has 6,000 employees globally, but it was unclear Tuesday how many are employed in Colorado Springs. The company did not respond to questions from The Gazette about how many employees will remain at the Springs facility after the layoffs or if it planned additional layoffs.
“The technology industry is experiencing shifts in priorities and demand,” Â the company said in a written statement. “As a result, we are realigning aspects of our operations to better reflect evolving client needs. Unfortunately, this includes changes to our workforce structure. We deeply appreciate the contributions of those impacted and are committed to supporting them with respect, care and practical assistance.”
The statement went on to say: “Our focus on delivering high-quality, AI-first technology services to our customers globally remains unchanged. As new opportunities emerge and the business evolves, we hope to reconnect with former colleagues whose talents and values have helped shape TeKnowledge. As we continue our work in Colorado, we’d like to emphasize that Colorado Springs has consistently proven to be an outstanding location for delivering our services — thanks to its exceptional talent pool, strong community spirit, and supportive business environment.”