British financial major Barclays Bank will soon move out administrative functions by setting up call centre operations having 500 employees in India, said Scotsman.com.
Barclays said it was talking to the banking union Unifi about offshore outsourcing, but denied reports that it has firm plans to move up to 5,000 call centre jobs to India, said Scotsman.com.
Earlier, ThisIsMoney.com had reported that "up to 5,000 British jobs could be affected in the planned transfer of about half the Barclay Bank's call centre activities in a move that reflects a growing trend among British firms to take advantage of lower salaries in other countries."
"We have no particular targets for offshore outsourcing. We have no fixed plans to 'offshore' call centres. As a dynamic business operating in an intensely competitive environment in over 60 countries, we keep the way we run our business under regular review," Scotsman.com reported, quoting George Hulbert, the bank's spokesman.
"A range of options is available to improve efficiency - for example, in-house changes, joint ventures, outsourcing in the UK and outsourcing offshore. We use them all," Scotsman.com quoted Hulbert as saying.
Barclays employs 58,000 British staff, including 9,500 in call centres. No call centre functions are carried out at its Indian operations, which focus on back-office processing, Scotsman.com reported.
British companies have been slower than their American counterparts to take advantage of the lower costs that call centres in the developing world can give. Fewer than 15 per cent listed companies have taken the plunge so far, against 35 per cent of leading US firms, said ThisIsMoney.com.
"But this situation is now changing fast. With average salaries in Indian centres about a tenth of those in Britain - around £1,200 against £12,000 - companies know they can make huge savings by transferring centres and making use of modern telecom links," said ThisIsMoney.com.
"Some 50,000 British jobs have been transferred to Indian centres in the past two years. The industry, which still employs nearly 600,000 people in Britain, is expected to shed 100,000 more jobs in the next five years," said ThisIsMoney.com.
The National Rail Enquiries service recently announced that it is moving 600 jobs abroad.
"However, the transfer of call centre jobs to India, South Africa, Eastern Europe or the Philippines could backfire on British companies. Such moves are sparking concern in the government and among bank customers, who worry about security," said ThisIsMoney.com.
Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt has also ordered an enquiry into the outsourcing trend.
ThisIsMoney.com, meanwhile, said that "there is growing evidence of a consumer revolt against being forced to talk to operators and call centre staff half way round the world."
"In one recent survey, 60 per cent of the public said they did not want call centres based abroad. Some nine out of 10 customers of financial institutions said they would consider changing companies if their organisation moved calls offshore," reported ThisIsMoney.com.
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