Officeworks will shift hundreds of customer service and IT roles overseas as part of a major business transformation program aimed at reducing costs and improving competitiveness.
The company, which is part of Wesfarmers’ retail portfolio, confirmed that roles from its western Sydney customer service centre will be relocated to Manila in the Philippines, while additional office and technology positions in Melbourne and Sydney are expected to be moved to Bengaluru, India.
Officeworks said the changes were driven by rising costs, increasing competition and shifting customer expectations, and were necessary to maintain “low prices” and invest in stores, technology and product range.
“As part of this program, some activities currently performed in our Australian support office will transition to a new global centre in Bengaluru,” the company said as per ABC report.
Dozens of customer service roles in western Sydney have already been declared redundant, with affected staff informed their positions will be replaced by offshore teams.
Further roles, including parts of the company’s IT and support functions, are expected to transition in stages, although Officeworks said its retail store workforce in Australia would remain largely unchanged.
The move reflects a broader trend among Australian corporations outsourcing white-collar roles to lower-cost labour markets, particularly in India and the Philippines, where large skilled workforces support global “capability centres” for multinational firms.
Officeworks also indicated it would expand use of automation, data systems and artificial intelligence to streamline operations, raising concerns among analysts about the longer-term impact on domestic employment in technical and administrative roles.
The federal government responded by reiterating that it expects companies operating in Australia to prioritise local jobs, although it acknowledged businesses face competitive pressures in a rapidly changing global economy.
Officeworks has already begun hiring for new roles in Bengaluru and is expected to complete the transition in phases over the coming period.
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