Battered by falling sales and the global financial meltdown, US-based computer maker Dell has decided to sell at an undisclosed price its call center site at the SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City to call center operator Teleperformance.

It was a painful end for the Pasay facility since it was Michael Dell, the company’s founder and CEO, himself who inaugurated the site just three years ago in his first visit to the country.

Dell’s other call center facility in Quezon City "is not part of the sale," a statement from the company said. The Pasay site provides consumer tech support for the US and Australia-New Zealand, while the Quezon City facility caters to commercial business clients.

The announcement, made on March 20, said "jobs will remain in the Philippines," meaning the estimated 1,000 employees at the site will be absorbed by Teleperformance. The affected workers, however, have the option to accept or reject the job offers expected to be made by Teleperformance.

Although it has been handling Dell accounts in its other locations, the deal will allow France-headquartered Teleperformance to provide call center services to Dell for the first time from its Philippine site.

Teleperformance currently operates facilities in 46 countries and reportedly the 150th-largest private sector employer in the world with more than 88,000 full-time equivalent employees.

Ganesh Lakshminarayanan, vice president of Dell global consumer services, the company remains committed to the Philippines directly through its various operations at the Quezon City site.

"We appreciate the contributions of our Pasay team and will do all we can to make the transition seamless. It is a mutual win that our Pasay team will continue supporting Dell customers through Teleperformance," he said in a statement.

Brent Welch, CEO of Teleperformance USA, in a statement said: "We are delighted to see our long and successful relationship with Dell progress to the next strategic level. Teleperformance is and will continue to be committed to growth in the Philippines and this move is a win for employees, Dell, the Philippines and Teleperformance."