Software developer DST Systems Inc. will close its Jefferson City offices on Dec. 31, leaving its 70 employees to transfer or find other jobs.
The publicly traded company based in Kansas City will eliminate about 150 positions across its Financial Services organization over the next three months. The cuts will be spread across DST offices in Jefferson City as well as Kansas, City; South Windsor, Conn.; and Hyderabad, India.
"It's a sign of the times" that goes along with declining financial services market, said Randy Allen, president of the Jefferson City Area Chamber of Commerce.
Jefferson City's technology sector, however, is strong, he said. "There's a lot of people hiring; we're seeing healthy growth, but they obviously have to change with the times," Allen said.
Laura Parsons, a spokeswoman for the company, said in an email that the reductions are part of the company's "ongoing efforts to create and maintain healthy and sustainable businesses that are reflective of current and anticipated market conditions."
She said employees will be given "excellent severance and benefits assistance" as well as assistance in finding other jobs. Many of the employees, she said, will be offered jobs at another DST division in Kansas City.
Allen said the chamber hopes to organize a job fair like it did when RR Donnelley closed locally. That worked well, he said, and succeeded in helping some of those workers find other local jobs.
DST is an American software development firm specializing in information processing and management.
In July, the company reported that its second quarter new income jumped to $137.8 million, compared with earnings of $78.5 million the same quarter last year. In the past year, its stock has risen from $75.98 to $83.66.