Deluxe Corporation last week announced plans to close its Phoenix call center and lay off all 175 of the employees who work there.

The Shoreview-based company is making the move in order to consolidate its four existing call centers into three call centers, Jim Thomsen, vice president of Deluxe's marketing check programs and operations, told Twin Cities Business.

Consequently, employee numbers will grow at the Kansas City, Kansas; Greensboro, North Carolina; and Antelope Valley, California call centers-all of which have room to expand.

Employees at the 15-year-old Phoenix call center will have the opportunity to apply for jobs at the three remaining centers, Thomsen said, adding that he expects that some will opt to do so. All of the laid-off Phoenix employees will receive severance benefits and outplacement assistance.

Thomsen said he was unsure whether the employees would be phased out over time or share the same last day, adding that it's too early to determine that at this stage in the consolidation process. But Deluxe expects to close the Phoenix call center sometime during the fourth quarter of this year.

“My number one ingredient will be to ensure that we have our infrastructure in place where we don't skip a beat on our customer service,” Thomsen said.

Deluxe employs about 5,800 across the nation. The company provides personalized printed products; business services, including logo design, payroll, Web design and hosting; business networking; and other Web-based services to help small businesses grow. It is among Minnesota's 30-largest public companies based on revenue, which totaled $1.4 billion in 2010.