62 jobs lost after Hillsborough Community College pulls contract

Sodexo, a French food company that counts facilities maintenance as one of its services, has lost its contract with Hillsborough Community College and will lay off 62 employees.

In a letter sent to state and local officials, the company says it was informed June 13 that the local college had decided to use another contractor and that its contract expired July 31.

Sodexo says because of that it will close its operations at the college and its workers “will be discontinued.”

“This action is expected to be permanent.”

The layoffs, 45 of them, are mostly centered on people working in environmental services.

HCC did not respond to questions about why it decided to switch companies and who the new provider was.

The company sent the letter to state officials to meet WARN Notice requirements. Companies, according to federal law, have to provide states with Worker Adjustment Retraining and Notification notices when making job cuts.

Sodexo says it is providing less than 60 days’ notice, which is also a requirement, of “because of business circumstances that were not reasonably foreseeable and outside of Sodexo’s control.”

The workers losing their jobs are represented by the SEIU Florida Public Services Union.

Sodexo North America, which according to its website offers “foodservice and innovative dining solutions for campuses across the U.S,” is part of a French company which operates in 45 countries.

A spokesperson did not respond to questions about how long it had the contract with HCC and if it was offering services to the employees losing their jobs.