Convergys Corp.'s Norwood call center is among several facilities operated by the billing and customer care provider that could expand as a result of the company winning two contracts from AT&T Broadband valued at more than $1 billion.

        Convergys will provide telephone, e-mail and Web chat support to AT&T Broadband under the two contracts. Convergys said the two agreements will involve more than 2,600 employees at five sites in North America, including the hiring of 1,300 workers. Convergys declined to estimate the contracts' value, but Brian Bingham, a senior analyst with IDC, estimated they exceeded $1 billion.
       

Cintech reports quarter sales loss

               Cintech Solutions, a Cincinnati software company, reported a $561,616 net loss and a 38 percent drop in first-quarter sales Monday.

        The company, a maker of customer interaction management software, said results continue to be hurt by falling sales of voice-only call center products.

        Cintech's $1.6 million in revenue represented a 38 percent decline from the same quarter a year ago. The company posted an $86,165 profit in the year-ago period.
       

Chiquita, workers reach agreement

               Panamanian banana workers reached an agreement with a division of Cincinnati-based Chiquita Brands, averting the loss of more than 1,000 jobs, a union official said.

        The decision also eliminated the company's threat to leave a port where it had operated for more than 50 years.

        The Puerto Armuelles Fruit Co. and union workers signed the agreement over the weekend in Chiriqui, a western region on the border with Costa Rica, union leader Edgar Williams said.

        Under the terms of the accord, the Puero Armuelles Fruit Co. agreed not to fire 1,350 workers. It will also give recently fired employees first preference for any new jobs that may open up. Four hundred workers who had less than a year with the company lost their jobs recently.

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