Sudbury tax centre set to hire hundreds of new workers

The Canada Revenue Agency's tax centre in Sudburyis slated to expand and hire additional staff as a result of a federal government announcement made Thursday.

The equivalent of 650 full-time jobs will be created as a result of the moves in Sudbury, but no details of how many of those positions will be part-time hours were provided.

The changes will also mean that 107 people will lose their jobs, but have been offered another position in the Sudbury office or elsewhere in the Canada Revenue Agency.

The workforce at thedata centre, which opened in 1982, currently represents the equivalent of 1,700 full-time jobs, although many of those are seasonal workers.

In a media release, Minister of National Revenue Diane Lebouthillier announced a reorganization of the CRA's nine existing processing centres, one of which is in Sudbury.

• Changes coming to CRA tax centres as agency moves to 'streamline processing'

Some work from two specialized Ottawa sites will gradually be consolidated to CRA's seven other centres, which the federal government says will all grow in size.

The northeastern Ontario location will continue to process tax returns according to the announcement, but will take on a larger volume of cases. In addition, the minister said that Sudbury will maintain a portion of collections and verifications work.

Sudbury, along with CRA offices in Winnipeg, Jonquire, Que. and Summerside, P.E.I. will specialize in processing and will become larger, according to the government.

The move is intended to streamline tax services in light of more people filing online, Thursday's announcement said, adding that the reorganization will "result in faster, more efficient processing and better handling of calls to call centres."

The Toronto Centre call centre is slated to be closed.

Ottawa acknowledged the need to work with the unions in order to "assist those individuals and their families impacted by this transition."

The union representing CRA workers said the changes will affect more than 2,300 of its members. It said management showed a "lack of respect" for not consulting the union before making the announcement.