HENRIETTA, N.Y. – More than 600 jobs are leaving Henrietta, after Verizon Wireless announced it’s closing its call center at the end of January 2017.

The company announced its decision to employees Wednesday.

“The main driver behind this is we want to make better use of our existing real estate assets as well as extra capacity we have in other locations,” Verizon Wireless spokesperson John O’Malley said. “So what we’re doing is consolidating a number of customer service operations into fewer call centers."

O’Malley said the decision had nothing to do with the center’s performance and he said the Henrietta location isn’t the only one closing. He said Verizon also announced Wednesday call centers in California, Maine, Connecticut, Ohio and Nebraska will shut their doors.

He said employees can follow their jobs to the remaining 16 locations nationwide, if they want. They would receive two paid days off to go visit the sites and up to $500 reimbursement for travel.

They can also choose a severance package and outplacement services.

O’Malley said the reaction to the news is what you would expect.

“It was a tough decision for some people to hear, but frankly we did hear anecdotal feedback from a number of people that they see it as an opportunity to maybe try another opportunity in another location,” O’Malley said.

O’Malley said the company hopes they follow.

“We look at this now as we’re starting to recruit our own employees to stay with the company because we’d love for all of them to stay with us if they’re able to relocate or find another position within the company,” O’Malley said. “We’re going to do everything we can to help them do that.”

Even so, Greece resident Greg Bointon said the news must be hard to digest for employees. He also hopes in turn the closing doesn’t hurt the economy in the area too much.

“I know what it’s like to just suddenly just find out you don’t have a job one day,” Bointon said. “That’s got to be really terrible. That’s a lot of people to lose their jobs, especially at the drop of the hat like that. You’re putting a lot of people out in a tough situation right before the holidays and stuff. People got to shop for their families for Christmas and Thanksgiving.”

The company said it’s working to set up a website for employees to search for other open positions across the country if they’d like to apply to those.

The announcement of the call center closing brought criticism from New York State officials.

Rich Azzopardi, a spokesperson for Gov. Cuomo said in a statement, "This is an egregious example of corporate abuse, among the worst we have witnessed during the six years of this administration. Verizon’s negligence is astounding and as a result, hard-working New Yorkers will lose their jobs."

The move to shut down operations also didn't sit well with Chris Shelton, President of the Communication Workers of America.

Shelton said in a statement, "Verizon Communications brags about being the nation’s biggest wireless carrier. It’s an extremely profitable company. In July 2016, Verizon’s stock hit its highest price since 2000. It’s spending $4.83 billion to buy Yahoo’s internet business. So why is Verizon closing call centers in New York? Why is it laying off 3,200 retail store workers nationwide, especially going into the busiest shopping period of the year? It’s corporate greed at its worst. Does this mean more jobs and more customer service problems will be shipped to Verizon overseas operations in the Philippines and other countries?"

Monroe County Executive Cheryl Dinolfo calls the news of the job cuts "disappointing."

In a statement she said, "We have an outstanding workforce here in Monroe County and we are a resilient community. It is my hope that individuals facing job loss have the opportunity to stay in Monroe County and be hired by other local businesses and entrepreneurs."

The Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce is offering to help find new jobs for those affected.

Chamber president and CEO Robert Duffy said in a statement, "Any time an employer cuts hundreds of jobs in the Rochester region is difficult not only for those workers, but also for the families they support and our regional economy. In many places, a loss of 600 jobs is like a tree falling in the forest. In Upstate New York and the Finger Lakes region it is like a tree falling on your house."