TTEC reduces employment commitment for 45 workers in free trade zone

The Executive Branch modified the agreement that granted the Free Trade Zone Regime to TTEC Customer Management Costa Rica Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada and set its minimum employment level at 45 workers, in addition to maintaining an investment of at least US$195,000.00. The decision is contained in agreement ACU-RZF-0017-2026-COMEX of the Ministry of Foreign Trade, published in La Gaceta No. 208 on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, and responds to a request from the company itself, which cited competitive pressure from Southeast Asia and process automation.

The agreement was signed at the Presidency of the Republic, in San José, on August 25, 2026, signed by Alexander Astorga Monge by delegation of President Laura Fernández Delgado and the acting Minister of Foreign Trade, Arianna Arce Camacho. The delegation is established in Presidential Agreement No. 040-P of July 14, 2026, published in La Gaceta No. 133, Scope No. 91 of July 17, 2026.

The original instrument is Executive Agreement number 67-2007 of February 23, 2007, published in La Gaceta number 62 of March 28, 2007, which classified the company—legal entity number 3-102-461394, formerly known as Teletech Customer Care Management Costa Rica S. A.—as a service company, pursuant to subsection c) of article 17 of the Free Trade Zone Regime Law, Law No. 7210.

The beneficiary’s new commitment

The modification affects only the sixth clause of the original agreement, which shall henceforth be read with these obligations:

• Minimum employment level of 45 workers, starting from the notification of Executive Agreement number 198-2026.
• Minimum investment of US$195,000.00 (one hundred ninety-five thousand dollars), starting from the notification of March 21, 2024.
• Compliance with the National Added Value (VAN) percentage under the terms of the Regulations to the Free Trade Zone Regime Law.
• Oversight by PROCOMER regarding the level of investment in fixed assets, with the possibility of revocation of the regime for non-compliance.

The second article of the agreement provides that everything not expressly modified in Executive Agreement 67-2007 remains in effect, and the third establishes that the measure takes effect upon its notification.

Asian pressure and automation

According to the recitals, the company submitted its requests on March 24, and April 9, 14, 20, and 21, 2026, to decrease the employment level. In its argument, it maintained that “during recent years, companies have experienced growing competitive pressure in the international market,” particularly in customer service and information processing services, against competitors from Southeast Asia such as India and the Philippines, with lower operating costs and salary structures.

The company added that this difference in labor costs generated “a significant structural disadvantage” in retaining international contracts and attracting clients, aggravated by the automation and digitalization of processes. Therefore, it announced a restructuring with a “partial reduction of personnel,” which, according to its text, seeks to preserve financial viability and fulfill labor and legal obligations to the workers, PROCOMER, and the free zone regime.

Institutional Route and COMEX Criterion

The internal instance of the PROCOMER Administration reviewed the request and, based on the report from the PROCOMER Special Regimes Directorate No. 130-2026, recommended that the Executive Branch modify the executive agreement in accordance with Law No. 7210 and its Regulation, Executive Decree No. 34739-COMEX-H of August 29, 2008.

The agreement also incorporates the criterion established by the Ministry of Foreign Trade in Official Letter DM-911-1 of September 26, 2001: PROCOMER cannot fail to consider dynamic factors of the business environment and must assess the impact of a modification of investment and employment levels compared to the definitive closure of the company. The recitals conclude by stating that legal procedures were observed.

The decision is important because it touches upon one of the pillars of the free zone regime as a generator of employment in exportable services: the Executive accepts reducing the labor goal of a services operation and sets the standard at 45 positions, with investment and NPV as counterweights. The precedent enables other beneficiaries in difficulty to request similar adjustments and concentrates the monitoring of compliance within PROCOMER.

Source: La Gaceta, No. 208 of November 3, 2026, Executive Branch — Agreements, pp. 2-3 (official reference: ACU-RZF-0017-2026-COMEX).