Shutdown of MCI call center won't affect tax abatement, officials say: 600 will lose jobs as company converts to network services center.

MCI's decision to shut down its call center in Sugar Land is not expected to affect the company's two-year-old tax abatement agreement, according to officials involved in the deal.

When MCI announced in 1994 that the company would open a projected 750-person communications service center in Sugar Land's Fluor Daniel complex, the Greater Fort Bend Economic Development Council and the Greater Houston Partnership put together an incentives package that included a six-year tax abatement from area taxing entities.

But most tax abatements are based on the number of jobs created, so the validity of the agreement could come into question if MCI ultimately ends up reducing …