UK cos offshored majority IT jobs to India in six months

In their attempt to cut costs amid the global downturn, two in every three UK-based firms have offshored a portion of their IT functions in the last six months, with a large portion of it coming to India, a survey says.

According to a survey by an UK-based IT recruitment firm, IT Job Board, almost two thirds (64 per cent) of the companies surveyed have offshored a portion of their IT functions in the last six months.

Further, about 34 per cent of the IT professionals in the companies that participated in the survey said more than half of their IT department had already been shifted overseas and 79 per cent of respondents said the work had been sent to India.

“Offshoring is becoming an increasingly popular phenomenon, particularly as companies look to reduce cost during these difficult economic times. The UK is in the midst of skills crisis, which is currently being undermined by the recession.” IT Job Board head (international marketing) Teresa Sperti said.