On this week’s Sports Office, Brian Knight, the host of “Clemson Football Live” joined the show. Knight gave an insider perspective into all things Clemson football and what Longhorns fans most need to know before kickoff.

Hundreds of Austin-area workers are being laid off as the Texas Department of Transportation moves its TxTag toll billing and customer service operations to the Harris County Toll Road Authority. 

TTEC Government Solutions, a tech services and call center based in Colorado, announced in a recent notice to the Texas Workforce Commission that it will be laying off 650 workers from two of its Austin offices in February. TTEC confirmed to the Statesman Tuesday evening that the layoffs are a direct result of TxDOT’s decision to transfer operations to the Harris County Toll Road Authority. 

TxTag was overseen by the transportation department, while the billing and customer service operations were managed by TTEC Government Solutions. TxDOT initially contracted with Faneuil in 2019; the company was later acquired by TTEC, which then assumed the contract. Since 2019, TxDOT has paid these companies over $230 million, according to a report by KXAN Austin in October.

In October, the Texas Transportation Commission approved an agreement to transfer all TxTag processing, billing, and customer service to the Harris County Toll Road Authority. According to commission presentation materials from October, this move is expected to make operations more cost-effective, reducing the cost to process a toll transaction from 30 cents to 15 or 16 cents.

According to the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) letter, affected employees will receive either 60 days of wages and benefits in lieu of notice, 60 days’ notice, or a combination of both.

“Today, I regret to inform you that in response to their changing business needs, the TxDOT client program you support has made the decision to sunset their operations with TTEC. …,” TTEC wrote in an email to affected employees. “Our goal is to transition our affected employees to one of our existing and growing programs wherever possible. The payrate and hours for these positions may differ from your current role. We’re committed to communicating with you openly and honestly during this transition period and will continue to keep you informed with additional details about available opportunities so you can make educated and informed decisions about your career and your future.”

According to the company’s third quarter financial results, TTEC reported a loss of $21.1 million in its third quarter and a loss of 44 cents per share, falling short of Wall Street expectations. In the report, the company said it expected full-year earnings to be between 64 cents to 83 cents per share and a revenue range of $2.21 billion to $2.26 billion. TTEC laid off 170 workers in its Colorado offices in 2019. 

“We have been working diligently to find other employment opportunities for them within the company and with TxDOT’s new tolling partner, where possible,” TTEC wrote in a statement to the Statesman on Tuesday. “When the project eventually ends in February, we hope to be able to have new assignments for many, if not all employees. We value our employees’ contributions and are committed to offering support during this time.”

AUSTIN, Texas – The Texas Longhorns are hosting the Clemson Tigers in the first-ever College Football Playoff game at DKR on Saturday. As a result, Austin is seeing a significant economic boost.

A big weekend on the field ahead for the Longhorns also makes for a big weekend for the Austin economy.

The city of Austin is preparing for an increase in visitors for the first-round College Football Playoff matchup against the Clemson Tigers on Saturday.

“Any opportunity to welcome a large group of folks into town, certainly fans of UT, fans of the visiting team is a great opportunity for us,” said Wesley Lucas with Visit Austin.

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Visit Austin says hotel occupancy in Austin for this weekend is projected to be 77% higher compared to last year’s 30%. 

“I heard some hotel saying that as soon as the game was announced that it was going to be here in Austin, they saw about a 20% bump in occupancy within 24 to 48 hours of that game being announced,” said Lucas.

Austin’s W Hotel says its seeing a significant bump in guests this weekend. General manager Joanna McCreary says generally at this time it would typically have been at 30% occupancy, but it will likely end up around 75% this weekend.

“I know restaurants are staffing up. I know hotels are staffing up. You know, our employees get to get a little extra cash in their pockets before the holidays too, which is another nice thing. And I know all the UT fans are super excited about being part of the SEC and getting this one last game in before the year ends,” said McCreary.

This is the first year with the new 12 team format compared to last year’s four-team playoff, meaning more teams have opportunities for home games. And it comes at a good time. December is historically a slow month for Austin tourism.

“The fact that we’re going to be having a game in a typically slower time is going to be really great for our hotels, for our local businesses or retailers, our nightlife, our live music venues,” said Lucas.

Kickoff is at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 21, at DKR.