L.L. Bean to Close Call Center

Outdoors outfitter L.L. Bean has announced that it is closing a call center in Bangor, Maine, that employs 220 people.

The employees, most of whom are part-time, were notified of the decision on Wednesday.

Call center workers generally take phone calls from customers placing orders from the Freeport-based company, but a spokeswoman says fewer people are making telephone orders as more place their orders online.

Spokeswoman Carolyn Beem says the Bangor facility, which opened in 2005, will close in May 2016 to give employees as much lead time as possible. Some of the employees will get an opportunity to take other jobs with the company, either working from home or at call centers in Lewiston or Portland.

She called the Bangor workers "highly engaged and satisfied."