ANDERSON — Empty cubicles and unmanned computers might seem like a bad omen. But for Affiliated Computer Services, they are a sign of optimism.

On Wednesday, local officials joined Affiliated representatives for a ribbon-cutting ceremony outside the company’s Anderson call center. Given the fact that the office has been humming along for more than six months, the event was a celebration of Affiliated’s growth and promising future.

“Last September, when we first opened our customer care center, we made a very large commitment to the city of Anderson,” said Greg Dodge, vice president of human relations for Affiliated. “Today, we’re here to celebrate that we’re way ahead of schedule on that commitment.”

Dodge reiterated a pledge Affiliated made earlier this month, that the company would employ 500 workers by the end of 2008, not the end of 2010 as originally planned. The call center already employs 348 workers.

Rows upon rows of work stations await use, with cubicles bare and monitors dark. Along with IBM, Affiliated will assist in the privatization of Indiana’s welfare system, creating jobs that pay an average of $10 an hour.

Officials, members of the media and other visitors were given a tour of the call center, including space recently reserved for a new Affiliate client, Verizon Wireless. Terry Nichols, general manager of the Verizon division, said his staff had been in place for just a week.

“We’re in major construction mode,” Nichols said. “We built quickly, but we built it rather well. We want our employees to fit in well and to get the big picture of our business culture.”

Nichols said the Verizon division was working six days a week and would soon increase to seven. It currently employs 280 workers, and that number is expected to increase to 500. The government solutions division of Affiliated employs 68 and expects to increase that number to 120.

Tom Blodgett, group president of Affiliated’s business processing solutions, called growth one of company’s mottos.

“Anderson is quite unique in that we have great partnerships and one of our partners is Verizon,” Blodgett said. “We have a government that’s willing to work with us. Another thing that is quite unique is that we have a university across the street.”

The nearby Flagship Education Center houses offices of Anderson University, Purdue University, Indiana Business College and Ivy Tech Community College. Blodgett presented a $2,500 check to the Purdue Research Facility in a show of thanks for its support during Affiliated’s early startup phase.

“We’re here for students, but we’re also here to work with business and industry,” said Jody Pierce, assistant director of the Purdue College of Technology.

Blodgett said the company expected to create 3,000 more jobs this year, a comment that drew the interest of Anderson Mayor Kris Ockomon, who was present Wednesday.

“You mentioned 3,000 more jobs,” he said, turning to steal a glance at Blodgett. “We’ve got lots of empty buildings.

“We’ve seen already that ACS has met what you’ve promised. That’s the kind of business we need in our fair city.”