AT&T adds hundreds of jobs at newly renovated call center

AT&T Inc. on Tuesday invited government officials and economic development executives to tour its Sunrise call center, where the telecommunications giant (NYSE: T) invested $6 million in renovations and aims to grow its workforce to 650 employees.

Renovations began 19 months ago on the 104,000-square-foot building at 8650 W. Oakland Park Blvd. In August 2017, the center had just 40 employees. It has since grown to 475 workers.

"Today is about the creation of good-paying jobs," said Jamal Sowell, CEO of Enterprise Florida, the state's economic development agency. "Florida's pro-business climate makes good business sense."

AT&T's Florida President Joe York commended leadership from the city, county and state for incentivizing the call center's expansion.

"This is more than an investment in a call center," York said at the event. "It's an investment for AT&T's customers, in jobs and in the local community."

Pay for those jobs range from $17.98-$20.02 an hour.

Upgrades to the call center include video walls with looping footage of skylines from across the tri-county area; 40 TV screens with AT&T's social media channels and product news; a break room with an 85-inch television, a pool table and an air hockey table; 13 conference rooms named after cities and locations across South Florida, an interactive virtual learning training room that can be accessed by trainers all over the country, a wellness room for nursing mothers and a renovated outdoor break area.

The final phase of the renovation is expected to be completed later this year. It will include arcade games, a market where employees can buy food and a conference room that can seat up to 80 people.

AT&T is renovating large call centers all over the country. The company held a ribbon cutting for its Chicago call center last year and renovations for two other locations other than the South Florida location are in progress in Houston and Mesa, Arizona.

AT&T employs 13,000 people in Florida.

Click on the photos for an inside look at Sunrise's revamped AT&T call center.