AAPT axes 31 call centre staff in continued offshoring moves
- 13 April, 2010 10:44
- Comments 8
Telecommunications provider AAPT has axed 31 domestic employees to expand its call centre operations in the Philippines.
About 20 sales staff in its Sydney Glebe call centre and 11 in its Brisbane site were issued redundancies on Friday, many effective immediately.
The telco had moved technical support operations to the Philippines after a June trial of 100 staff at Manila-based company Teletech. Customer service and billing operations were retained in Australia after the trial.
AAPT initially denied the redundancies when questioned by Computerworld last week. However, a spokeswoman admitted the redundancies had been made after bloggers discussed the cuts on telecommunications forum Whirlpool.
The spokeswoman could not confirm whether remaining staff positions would be made redundant.
“AAPT continues to operate more than half of our contact centre resourcing in Australia. However, given the competitive environment we operate in, we will always look for the most efficient and effective way to manage the services we provide our customers,” the spokeswoman said.
The move to offshore its call centres to Manila helped AAPT etch out a 6 per cent growth in earnings between 2008 and 2009, as part of its "cost containment programmes", according to parent company, Telecom New Zealand's annual report.
The telco saved $16 million through a 10 per cent reduction in headcount, and a further $26 million in operating expenses through the Manila deal and since the cessation of launch costs for its $100 million customer management system, Hyperbaric.
The recent cuts follow a move by Telecom New Zealand to axe 250 contact centre jobs from New Zealand to its offshore facilities in the Philippines.
Computerworld New Zealand revealed that move was part of a Telecom NZ restructure of six of its contact centres.
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Comments
1984
well at least they did it in a tight labour market wherein skilled workers are needed in nearly every sector.
z
Idiots, straight out idiots - now they will find just how useless the overseas call centres are. They can't even do the basics, let alone the more complex stuff.
Big Thumbs down to AAPT. Going offshore does not equate to better service.
chocha
have worked in few places and this one is the worst. local or offshore they are mostly clueless. customers are given the run around all the time
Bagger
It's not about customers, it's about profit..
What do these companies not get?? I can't find ONE PERSON who has been satisfied with the customer service thaey get from overseas call centres. These centres are the sweat shops of the 21st century. They are run by numbers where staff are required to handle a set number of calls per hour..
All companies I have spoken to were promised customer service and shown policies and procedures for delivering service. Within 6 months it's all about the profit of the call centre company.
Daniel
(the managment of) companies will always sacrifice their employees in the name of profit and cost reduction. don't ever forget that.
doesn't matter whether its Australians of Phillipinoes..
that is capitalism. that is the world we live in. get used to it!
me
That's right, i believe FIlipinos are the best when it comes to handling customers, I'd rather choose Philippines rather than India or anywhere else. If you cooperate with them they will give you the ebst customer service experience ever.
chorva
phillippines are the best in customer service!! they are patient and able to unserstand my issues! ive got no issue with them! they speak better english!
Visionary
@7, I agree and the girls are pretty as well!
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