Business information group
Experian is to cut at
least 200 IT jobs by
outsourcing software development to India to reduce the time to
market for new products.
“Experian plans to increase its new product development, but
needed to speed up that process as well do it more cost effectively
and flexibly to manage the peaks and troughs of the work that is
being done,” said company spokesman Peter Brooker.
The job cuts, which will affect just over 8% of the company’s
software developers working in the information solutions division,
will contribute to Experian’s global business optimisation
programme aimed at saving £40m a year.
Brooker said that by outsourcing its software development to
Perot Systems in
Bangalore, the company would be able to access bigger development
teams as and when required as well as tap into
specialist skills it was finding difficult to source in the
UK.
The company, which carries out credit checks on borrowers and
advises retailers on marketing, said it was seeking voluntary
redundancies as far as possible and was offering staff pay in lieu
of notice plus statutory redundancy. The company has also announced
a voluntary redundancy programme for senior managers.
Despite the slowdown due to the credit crunch hitting the
companies main clients in the banking sector, Experian said its
third quarter trading statement published this month shows the
company is still showing double-digit growth.