The Outsourcing Week in Review: Wednesday, November 13, 2019

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THE WEEK IN REVIEW

Last year, the Philippines ranked fifth in attracting foreign direct in investment (FDI) according to the annual Investment Report just published by the ASEAN secretariat for its 10 member nations. Although FDI overall has been steadily rising for the Philippines, investment from Europe and the US has been dropping, with Asia picking up the slack – particularly from China, which has grown more than 700% over the past five years. With BPO investors traditionally coming significantly from the US and Europe, one factor that is likely dampening investment appetite  is uncertainty about property and taxes in Manila, according to a report by the Philippines office of Jones Lang LaSalle. The recent enactment of the Comprehensive Income Tax and Incentive Rationalization Act (CITIRA) bill, in conjunction with the moratorium on new economic zones in the Metro Manila region, had created a degree of paralysis in the sector claims Janlo de los Reyes, the company’s head of research and consulting.

The week also saw news reflecting an industry in transition, particularly in respect of its workforce requirements. The former chief financial officer of Infosys, V Balakrishnan, has argued that the Indian outsourcing industry as a whole is overstaffed and needs to shed between 5% and 10% of its mid level staff to restore competitiveness. Infosys is certainly downsizing. According to Nilanjan Roy, its current chief financial officer, the company will be looking to shed about 15,000 staff, mainly mid-level workers and senior management, and will replace them where appropriate with entry level graduates to cut costs.

Another big reorganization affecting India is with US firm Cognizant. It says it plans to shed about 13,000 jobs, mainly in its Indian operations, with its partial withdrawal from its content moderation business accounting for nearly half.  The psychological impact of content moderation has steadily been a rising concern for the BPO industry: the wellbeing of online content moderators, as well as its occupational hazards, is about to be evaluated by the Philippines’ Department of Labor’s Bureau of Local Employment.

In contrast, Teleperformance hinted it may expand its number of India-based staff to 150,000, according to its chief executive Daniel Julien, and Bhupender Singh, the head of its India and Middle East operations. Concentrix is also set to recruit about 3,300 for new roles across its North American operations. Closer to home, Ibex has announced plans to recruit about 3,000 new staff for its three Philippine locations, taking its headcount to more than 10,000 in the country.

Meanwhile, the industry’s big beasts continue to roll out the new technology transforming the industry. Microsoft’s Project Cortex, its new AI-driven corporate data classification system, has now gone live. Accenture is due to launch three cyberattack training facilities as part of its drive to help industrial organizations ready their defenses against online assaults. Accenture, along with IBM, has also been designated as the official technical support and service partners for companies implementing Hyperledger blockchain technology. Wipro announced the launch of RAPIDS DXP, a proprietary system designed to meet the evolving needs of the digital experience and business-to-exchange market, with specific regard to the requirement for communication service providers. Tata Consultancy Services was the winner in two of the most hotly-contested categories at the recent 2019 Emerging Digital Technologies Awards, organized by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

NEWS THIS WEEK

11 November 2019

• Infosys Looks to Recruit Low-Cost Staff In Bid to Reduce Overheads – read article…
• Accenture Launches US and German Surviving Cyberattack Training Facilities – read article…
• Indian IT Firms Need to Shed Mid-Level Employees Says Former Infosys CFO – read article…

8 November 2019

• Ibex Philippines Looks to Take Staff Numbers to Beyond 10,000 – read article…
• Philippines’ Labor Bureau to Safeguard Mental Wellbeing of Online Content Moderators – read article…
• Hyperledger Designates Accenture and IBM As Lead Technical Support Providers – read article…

7 November 2019

• Wipro Rolls Out New Omnichannel Solution for Communication Service Providers – read article…
• Philippines Ranked Fifth for FDI Inflows Within ASEAN Bloc – read article…
• Microsoft Ready to Go Live on AI-Driven Corporate Data Classification System – read article…

6 November 2019

• Concentrix Set to Recruit 3,300 for New Roles Across North America – read article…
• Up to 15,000 Workers Face Uncertain Future as Infosys Considers Cutbacks –  read article…
• Demand for BPO Office Space in Metro Manila Region Beset by Ongoing Uncertainties – read article…

5 November 2019

• Teleperformance Hints at Plans to Push India Staff Levels to 150,000 – read article…
• TCS Takes Two Top Awards at Emerging Digital Technologies Event – read article…
• 13,000 Jobs to Go as Cognizant Cuts Costs and Pulls Out of Content Moderation – read article…

Read more Inside Outsourcing Newsletters here:

1. The Outsourcing Week in Review: November 6, 2019
2. The Outsourcing Week in Review: November 27, 2019