Telecom outsources a further 250 call-centre jobs

Telecom shifts further 250 call-centre jobs to the Philippines

Feb. 4 – Telecom Corp., the biggest company on the NZX 50 Index by market value, will shift a further 250 call centre jobs to the Philippines to help reduce costs.

The move, over about 18 months, will bring staff in Manila to 700, with 1,600 jobs remaining in New Zealand, the company said in a statement.

The decision to move more call centre workers to a lower-cost country comes as Telecom is facing more rivalry for phone calls in New Zealand, as customers migrate to mobile services from landlines and costs rise to meet government edicts on competition.

Spokesman Mark Watts said Telecom may limit redundancies because attrition at call centres is “fairly high” and there is room for some workers to be redeployed.

Figures tomorrow are expected to show the jobless rate climbed to 4.7% in the fourth quarter from 4.2% three months earlier as the slowing economy spurs companies to reduce their workforce and limit new hires.

Shares of Telecom fell 0.4% to NZ$2.66.

(Businesswire)

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