Vodafone Hutchison to move 450 jobs to India, Tasmania

I / Melborune September 17, 2009, 17:51 IST

Mobile services provider Vodafone Hutchison has announced offshoring a total of 450 call centre jobs from Melbourne to India and Tasmania.     

The decision comes three months after Vodafone Australia and Hutchison 3G Australia formed a 50:50 joint venture.     

A spokesman for Vodafone Hutchison Australia, who earlier flagged a total of 380 job cuts, said the company would transfer an unspecified number of positions to a call centre in Mumbai and about 100 jobs to Kingston, Tasmania.     

Service Stream, the company that was running Vodafone contract confirmed the telecom operator's plans to end the contract employing 450 in customer service and support roles starting in October to February, in a move that will shift the positions to Vodafone offices in India and Tasmania.     

Service Stream Acting Managing Director Michael Doery said the company would try to find new roles for the affected employees, but was unlikely to accommodate them.     

"We're trying to do the right thing for our staff but not give them false expectations," he was quoted as saying in 'The Age'.  

"Call centre people are unlikely to suit the other sort of work we do, which is technically-based or based on outdoor civil activities. ... However, if a company we're providing services to makes a decision to in-source call centre jobs to Tasmania and India, that's not our decision," Doery said.     

Meanwhile, speaking of the changes, Vodafone Hutchison Australia chief Nigel Dews said, "The opportunity to use our combined scale to enhance our customer service capabilities is an important outcome for the Vodafone Hutchison Australia merger."