HCL BPO to trim up to 425 jobs in Ireland

HCL BPO Services plans to shutter its centre in Armagh in Northern Ireland and trim the workforce at its operations in Belfast which could impact up to 425 jobs.

The restructuring plan comes at a time when many entities are cutting down on costs amid tough economic conditions.

HCL BPO Services (Northern Ireland) has announced a 90-day consultation period on the proposals to close contact centre in Armagh and to reduce employment at the Belfast centre, HCL Technologies said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) today.

The proposals could result in up to 425 people being put at risk of redundancy, including 170 in Armagh, it said.

"In the current economic conditions, some clients were optimising resources and consolidating in-house," it said.

Even though 425 people are likely to be impacted by these plans, the company expects to find alternative employment for around 40% of them during the course of the consultation period.

"As a responsible employer, we are committed to retain and retrain as many of the affected employees as possible and during the consultation period we will engage with each employee affected to look at ways we can assist them gain alternative employment within and outside HCL BPO," HCL BPO Services General Manager Anita Barnard said.

Northern Ireland, with its talent pool and resources, is HCL BPO's Centre of Excellence in Customer Experience Management, especially for near-shore customers in the region for clients in sectors like financial services and utilities.

"We are committed to the long-term development of this Centre of Excellence and over the next five years, we have plans to invest in our technologies and to create new jobs in Northern Ireland," Barnard said.

HCL BPO, the business process outsourcing arm of IT major HCL Technologies, said it would continue to work for clients in the region as "normal", adding that it will keep all customers informed of the proposed moves.

The entity had a workforce of 11,021 employees as on December 31, 2011. The company expects the unit to break even in the January-March 2012 period, even though it has been making losses over several quarters. In the October-December quarter, it posted an EBITDA (operating loss) of $1 million.

The lucrative US and Europe, which contribute more than 80% of revenues of major Indian software exporters, are facing high unemployment rates and slower economic growth.

HCL Technologies shares closed at Rs 467.40, down 0.18% from its previous close on the BSE.