300 Telstra jobs face offshoring

Telstra has confirmed that it is considering a proposal to offshore a number of administrative back-of-house jobs.

Some 160 jobs as well as additional agency partner positions, which look after areas such as broadband and home phone service order activation and capex accounting would be affected, Telstra said. The Australian has reported that around 300 employees would have their position taken over by Indian suppliers, saying that the companies involved were IBM India and Tata Consultancy Services.

The plan is in response to a request for proposal the company has been conducting for the last nine months. Telstra said that one of the companies the jobs would move to already partners with Telstra on back-of-house activities so that a consolidation would achieve further efficiencies.

In March, Telstra said that the proposal was part of Project New, the telco's program of reforms to transform customer service. The idea is to reduce spending on external suppliers, improving customer service and field workforce productivity, as well as simplifying prices and reducing the company's ongoing costs.

"This has been a tough process and if the proposal goes ahead, impacted Telstra employees will be encouraged to apply for other roles within the company. Successful applicants will be provided with additional assistance for relocation costs if required," Telstra said in a statement of the outsourcing.

"Employees who leave the company would be provided with retrenchment benefits that are amongst the most generous in the industry, with up to 80 weeks pay depending on their years of service, as well as the opportunity to participate in a redeployment program if they wish."