Sallie Mae sells center to Aegis, saving jobs

IRVING, Texas

Aegis Ltd. said Tuesday it's buying a Sallie Mae customer service center in Killeen, Texas, saving 350 jobs there as the nation's largest student lender undergoes restructuring.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Effective June 4, Aegis, an outsourcing provider and part of Indian conglomerate Essar Group, will absorb the staff at the center. The facility will be Aegis' tenth in the United States as it aggressively expands in North America.

Sallie Mae, formally known as SLM Corp., said last month it's cutting 2,500 workers because of changes made to the federal student loan program as part of the health care reform signed by President Barack Obama in March.

The law strips the middleman role in student lending away from banks. It's expected to save at least $60 billion in fees that went to banks to process government-backed student loans.

At the time, the Reston, Va., company told 1,200 staffers in centers in Killeen, Texas, and Panama City, Fla., they will be laid off by year-end. The remaining cuts are expected to follow in 2011.

Sallie Mae shares fell 32 cents, or 2.7 percent, to $11.34 in afternoon trading.