DISH Network announced today that it will close its McKeesport call center, which employs 600 people, in March.

The company, which opened the call center there in 1998, said in a statement that the McKeesport facility "does not meet our business needs."

It added that it would help those currently employed there find other jobs.

Bethany Budd Bauer, the city's community development director, said a company official called and left a message with news of the closure with a secretary. She called the company's decision to close the facility, one of McKeesport's largest employers, a blow to the city.

The call center occupies a facility in the Industrial Center of McKeesport, an industrial park that holds eight companies employing 840 people, according to the park's owner, Regional Industrial Development Corp. Allegheny County recently committed $10 million in federal and state money to build a flyover ramp into the site, with the hope of drawing new investment and more jobs.

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