About 1,200 people in Butler and Mercer counties were out of jobs as of Tuesday.

U.S. Investigative Services, which has offices in Boyers and Grove City, announced that the termination of two federal government contracts on Tuesday meant that 2,500 of its employees around the United States would be without work.

The three offices in Boyers and Grove City had employ 1,500 people. The company, based in Falls Church, Va., had 6,000 total employees.

In September, the federal Office of Personnel Management announced that it would not renew its contracts with the company, which were to do background checks for prospective federal employees.

In a statement, USIS officials said they were disappointed. But the company noted that other contractors will pick up the work that USIS lost, and USIS expects that most if not all of the USIS employees who were laid off will get job offers with those companies.

U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-3rd, of Butler said such a large job loss always is a concern.

He and his staff began talking to USIS, OPM and the Department of Homeland Security as soon as they heard the contracts would not be renewed. He said he wanted to see what his office could do to help resolve the situation.

Kelly noted that there are other companies such as KeyPoint Government Solutions, which has offices in Slippery Rock and Grove City, and CACI, which has some local offices, also do background checks.

“The volume of work is still there,” Kelly said.

He said he got a good feeling from talking to people that these companies may get the contracts and they may be able to absorb the people who lost USIS jobs.

Butler County Commissioner Bill McCarrier said, despite the job losses, he is optimistic.

He said he was at the Boyers USIS office at Iron Mountain on Branchton Road a few weeks ago. The people who he talked to there said the company that may get the contracts that USIS lost also is at Iron Mountain and it was hopeful that those laid off employees would be able to work there.

“That would be my hope also,” McCarrier said.