REDMOND The closure of a T-Mobile call center means the Central Oregon town of Redmond is losing 360 jobs and its largest private employer.

The center is scheduled to close in June, and Redmond officials called it a setback for the towns economic recovery and goal of creating 10,000 jobs by 2030.

Its not good. We need all the jobs we can get in Central Oregon, Redmond Mayor George Endicott told the Bend Bulletin.

For workers, there are prospects: T-Mobile said as many as 1,400 jobs may be available at the companys other call centers, perhaps as close as Salem. A Bend call center said its hiring 100 people in May and would be happy to get applications from the Redmond workers.

T-Mobile USA officials declined to say how many openings there might be at the companys Salem call center.

The company announced Thursday that it will close seven call centers around the country and eliminate about 3,300 jobs as part of a plan to better compete in the wireless phone market. The Redmond center opened in 2004 and has been a major employer, providing jobs for as many as 850 people in 2010.

T-Mobile, based in Bellevue, Wash., is the smallest of the four national carriers and is dealing with steep subscriber loses, resulting in fewer calls to customer service. The company reported a net loss of 526,000 customers in the four quarter of 2011, compared with a net loss of 23,000 a year earlier. Executives attributed the loss to the launch of Apple Inc.s iPhone 4S, which is offered by its three largest competitors.

Right now we are focused on the future of T-Mobile, including optimizing our operations so we can strengthen our competitive position and get back to growth, said Kelsey Richards, a public relations consultant.

TRG Customer Solutions, which contracts with companies to provide call center services, will be hiring 100 people for its Bend location in May, said Catherine Doherty, chief people officer for the Jacksonville, Fla.-based company.

Given the type of work that we do, the T-Mobile employees will certainly be qualified, Doherty said. Their skills would probably translate well into TRG, and we would welcome them to apply.