Bolivar to lose 51 jobs in Feb. 13 AMS shutdown

by Paul Schreiber

SBJ Reporter

pschreiber@sbj.net

Privately held AMS Services Inc. at 1807 W. Aldrich Road in Bolivar is closing Feb. 13. The firm, which produces computer software for the insurance industry, has a staff of 51, including software developers and testers, accountants, computer programmers and customer service representatives.

"Corporate consolidation" was the reason for the shutdown according to Tammy Miller, public information specialist for the Missouri Department of Economic Development. "Work was moved to other facilities." The DED was notified of the AMS decision to close its 20-year operation on Oct. 29.

The Bolivar site employed as many as 170 at one time, said Nancy Jones, AMS on-site human resource manager. Following the layoffs, there will be two employees on site until AMS relinquishes the building March 1, said Jones, who is seeking an HR job in the area. AMS bought Micro-Magic Systems, another insurance software developer, in 1986.

Reasons for leaving

"The office in Bolivar was part of AMS Rating, which does comparative rates for the insurance industry," said Karen Marafioti, human resource vice president for AMS Services in Connecticut. Two other AMS locations providing ratings services located in Pulaski, Tenn., and Beachwood, Ohio, will continue to operate. She would not disclose revenues for the 800-employee company.

"We did an acquisition with another rating company, and so we more than doubled the size of our organization," Marafioti said. "We had to take a look at, unfortunately, the realities of business, which is where do we have redundant jobs and where are people needed and that type of thing."

Positions were offered to some of the dislocated AMS workers at its locations in Tennessee and Ohio, Marafioti said. These were based on what the employee's job function was and if that particular service was still needed by AMS, she added. The company was especially interested in retaining software developers and customer service personnel, she said.

"There's four (employees) leaving for Ohio at the end of the week," Jones said. Another couple of employees are likely to go to Beachwood, but she didn't think anyone was considering Tennessee, she added.

Employee earnings for AMS personnel at the Bolivar location ranged between $16,000 and $50,000, Jones said. Positions like data entry and distribution personnel earnings were near the low end, while software programmers' pay was $21,000 to $30,000, she said. Riding highest, in the $45,000 to $50,000 range, were software developers, IT personnel and management, she said.

Missouri Career Center

Erica Adams, work force development specialist, consulted individually with 24 AMS employees Jan. 13-14 regarding enrollment in the dislocated worker program available through the Missouri Career Center.

She will assist them in honing their resumes, searching job leads and exploring re-training opportunities for subsequent work.

"It's different in that a lot of these people are in the information technology arena, and we haven't seen an abundance of those layoffs. This isn't manufacturing," Adams said.

These people "have skills that are marketable, but we've got to try to find a place for them in the Springfield area," Adams said.

Layoffs in 2003

There were a lot of "relatively small layoffs" in southwest Missouri during 2003, said Alice Simpson, supervisor of the dislocated worker program at the Missouri Career Center.

The program received $950,000 last year to conduct its work among laid-off employees.

Fourth-quarter numbers indicated about 80 "bonafide layoffs" from nine companies operating in her seven-county service area, with the largest drop being experienced at AMS, she said.

Simpson estimated that about 300 people in her service area lost their jobs in 2003, but some were given recall dates, she added.

Of that number about 50 people have been recalled to work, she said.

Beginnings

Micro-Magic System Inc. was founded in 1983 by Bob Fuerst, Doug Roller and Jim Murrow, said Fuerst.

After AMS purchased Micro-Magic, the business was moved from its previous 4,000-square-foot location into a new 12,000-square-foot building it built in 1986, he said.

Sale to AMS was based on the opportunity to grow and expand into additional states, Fuerst said, who remained with AMS until 1996.