Sept. 10–Wyndham Hotel Group in Aberdeen will be closing in the months to come, employees learned Wednesday.

The move will affect hundreds of employees who handle reservations, the company’s loyalty program and customer care at Wyndham’s Aberdeen location.

“Wyndham Worldwide is always looking at its operations around the world. This is a decision we gave a lot of thought to,” said Geoff Ballotti, president and CEO, while in Aberdeen on Wednesday. “It was not taken lightly. This is a decision that will allow a significant population in Aberdeen to work remotely.”

Those details, though, have yet to be worked out, he said.

Amber Kjer has worked at Wyndham for 10 years, most recently as an account supervisor for Wyndham Rewards, a brand loyalty program.

She said employees were logged out of their phones and taken to a room, where it was explained that the company is closing its Aberdeen office. They were told much of the work will be moved to an office in Indianapolis, she said.

“The call center operation will be consolidated into an owned facility in Indianapolis. It is a facility that is much larger and we’ve been investing heavily in,” said Ballotti. “We will be transitioning our call center operation at the end of January 2016.”

The news came as a shock to employees, as even the supervisors didn’t know until 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, said Tanya Nordine, who works at Wyndham with her husband, Carl, and daughter, Brooklin.

“I know the town has a lot of jobs, but I don’t know what a lot of people are going to do. Some people are going to retire, but there’s a lot of people who can’t retire,” said Tanya Nordine. “We did look into moving to Canada, but we still want to stay in this area.”

Wyndham is the parent company of Aberdeen-founded Super 8 Motels. The first Super 8 was opened at the intersection of U.S. Highway 12 and South Roosevelt Street in 1974. In the mid-1990s, the franchise name was sold to Hospitality Franchise Systems Inc. In 1998, HFS and CUC International Inc. merged to create Cendant, according to past American News accounts. In 2006, Cendant Corp. announced it was breaking into a few companies, one being Wyndham Worldwide.

Working at Superline — what was then the Super 8 reservation center — or for Cendant or Wyndham as a reservation agent was a common job for high school and college students as well as adults in Aberdeen. The company has been one of the city’s largest employers for decades.

Kjer, who is a single mother with four boys, bought a house just two years ago.

“I relied on this job because I have been there so long,” she said by phone Wednesday. “I had sick time and vacation built up.

“Now I will have to start from the bottom on night shifts” somewhere else, she said.

The Nordines are also worried about supporting their family.

“My husband, daughter and I support a family of nine,” said Tanya Nordine. “I have health problems, and Wyndham was the only place that would work with us.”

Kjer said she’s not sure how many people work at Wyndham in Aberdeen. Some employees put the number at between 300 and 400.

“My department, Loyalty, is a small department with about 50 people,” Kjer said.

Some of the employees had been with the company for decades.

“There’s people who are in their 70s and 80s. People who have been there for 23 years,” said Tanya Nordine.

The Nordines have their own legacy at Wyndham. The family was the first to work together on a team and, for two years in a row, their team had the top number of reservations, Tanya Nordine said. On Wednesday, they were wearing their bright yellow commemorative shirts that said, “Back to back.”

A severance package will be provided for employees who stay until the close, said Faye Tylee, Wyndham executive vice president human resources. It will include paying out built up paid time off and other benefits, she said.

We are trying to be “as generous as possible,” Tylee said.

The number of people losing their jobs in Aberdeen is estimated to be about 240, according to Tylee.

Ballotti was uncertain how many people would be able to stay on as at-home employees or relocate to a different Wyndham location.

“It’s too early to see who will want to stay. A lot can happen in five months,” he said.

In addition, Ballotti said, Wyndham officials are working with companies affiliated with Wyndham to see if there are any jobs available in the Aberdeen area or through a transfer.

“We are communicating with each and every associate on how we can find them a job, either at Wyndham or with a third-party partner,” said Ballotti.

The American News received several calls and messages from severalWyndham employees concerning the closing news.

In a video from Wednesday’s announcement, shot by a Wyndham employee and shared with the American News, Ballotti addressed employees.

“The loyalty and performance … has always been exceptional,” he said to a quiet room.

“It is the most difficult decision that I’ve yet seen this company make,” he said.

Ballotti, standing on a table and speaking into a microphone, said the company will make available jobs at Wyndham in Indianapolis and St. John, New Brunswick, Canada, to employees who can relocate.

“As sad as this announcement, we’ve had several outreaches from business leaders in the area asking how they can help,” said Ballotti.