NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Telecommunications giant MCI plans to close its call center here the day after Thanksgiving, laying off about 500 workers. Company officials said the closure was part of a continuing cost-reduction plan announced earlier this year. Do Not Call legislation is partly to blame, a spokeswoman said.

MCI, formerly known as WorldCom, went bankrupt in July 2002 after an accounting scandal.

The Ashburn, Va.-based company announced in January it expected to reduce costs by 15 to 20 percent, and it emerged from bankruptcy protection in April. MCI has not announced any other layoffs.

The Newport News center is the ninth call center MCI closed this year. There are six remaining.

"Telecommunications market realities - including industry, economic and regulatory conditions - require MCI to take these actions as part of its ongoing cost reduction effort," company officials said in a news release. "While reductions in force are always a last resort, MCI must continue to revamp its cost structure to better position the company."

The Newport News center opened in January 1996, and by the end of the first year was reporting it had 1,000 employees. As recently as December the company said it had 700 workers at the center.

MCI opened its center here when the region was in the middle of a call center boom, adding thousands of jobs to the work force.

Today, the reverse seems to be occurring as call centers, including Spiegel Group TeleServices and Faneiul Group, announced layoffs at their facilities.