Sprint PCS officially closed its Lawrence call center Friday. As employees left their jobs for the final time, many praised how the company handled the closing but were concerned about their ability to find good-paying jobs in Lawrence.

Sprint PCS officials announced in mid-February that the center, in the former Riverfront Mall, was one of five of the company’s smaller call centers across the country that would be closed. Friday, about 200 of the center’s once 500-member work force were on the job, according to estimates from several employees.

“A lot of people stayed on for the severance pay,” said Traci Dudley, an employee at the center for the past three years. “If you don’t have a job lined up, you really need that severance money.”

Sprint officials declined to release details of the severance package, but several employees said it generally was two weeks pay for every year of service with Sprint PCS.

Several employees said they already had begun their job search, but were concerned about finding one in Lawrence that would meet their financial needs.

“I’m pretty sure I’m going to have to look outside Lawrence to find my next job,” said Ian Bishop, who had worked at the center since it opened nearly five years ago. “It’s unfortunate, but I think Lawrence has become so much of a bedroom community that it’s hard to find a decent paying job.

“I’ve got to have enough to pay my bills. I can’t live on minimum wage type of jobs.”

Bishop and others said the Sprint PCS jobs were better than many people probably realized. He said many of the employees made $10 an hour or better, and several employees said the benefits were among the best in town.

Lisa Hatter, a Lawrence employee at the center, said she paid less than $50 every two weeks for her benefits package, which included medical, dental and life insurance, and also received discounts on her car insurance through the company.

Sprint officials declined to discuss details of their compensation and benefit packages.

Many employees said the company worked with them on their search for new jobs. Company spokeswoman Amy Schiska said Sprint PCS had played host to several job fairs, worked with employees on polishing resumes and directed those interested in returning to school to organizations that could provide financial aid.

“I think they are treating us real fairly,” Bishop said. “I really can’t imagine a company going any more out of their way to work with us than Sprint has.”

That doesn’t mean Friday’s last day was easy for everyone.

“The really hard part is this is the only thing I have ever done,” Tina Costner, a three-year employee at the center, said. “I don’t have much experience doing anything else, so I’m not looking forward to looking for a new job.”

Other employees, though, were looking at Friday’s closing as a new beginning.

“I’m going to take a couple of computer classes and look at this as an opportunity to do something bigger and better,” Veronica McReynolds, an employee, said. “I probably would have never left here if they didn’t kick me out. I would have spent my whole life here and been stuck in a really big rut.”

When company officials announced the closing on Feb. 15, they said the Lawrence center was chosen because it was one of the smallest of its 13 call centers. Closing the call center in Lawrence and those in four other cities were expected to cut the company’s work force by 3,000 people and save an estimated $60 million a year.

Owners of the office space Sprint PCS occupied in the former mall building have said they were seeking a new tenant, including a call center company, but have not reached a deal yet.

The ownership group for the building includes members of the World Company, which owns the Journal-World.