Lloyds TSB has been accused by
its union of "outsourcing by proxy" after it announced the closure
of a processing centre in Peterborough last week.
The situation highlights the PR challenges faced by IT directors
as businesses attempt to streamline their operations.
Steve Tatlow, assistant general secretary at Lloyds TSB Group
Union, accused the bank of trying to conceal the fact that UK jobs
- including some IT roles - were being lost to India.
"I am certain that were Lloyds not transferring more jobs to
India, the Peterborough site would not close," he said.
A Lloyds TSB spokesman said, "This is not an offshore
outsourcing announcement. The move is part of plans to increase
automation and operational effectiveness efficiency. Offshore
outsourcing is part of our strategy, but it is wrong for the union
to second-guess decisions that have not yet been taken."
The bank said it would offer every employee opportunities for
redeployment, but it warned UK workers that 400 jobs would go by
the end of the year.
The affected jobs include some IT posts, plus administration and
account handling roles. The bank said the functions were moving to
other UK IT operational centres of excellence as part of an ongoing
review to streamline operations.
The bank employs about 2,500 staff in India and has signed
several outsourcing agreements in the past 12 months, mostly
recently signing a back-office processing deal with Xansa last
November.
Phil Codling, principal analyst at research firm Ovum, said the
job losses at Lloyds TSB were part of a trend among large
businesses to develop a cheaper global workforce. "Everyone is
looking for the best service at the best price," he said.
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