Call centre jobs in doubt at Vodafone
Tom Pullar-Strecker
Vodafone New Zealand chief executive Jason Paris has appeared to signal that the company could cut jobs at its call centres in Auckland and Christchurch as it seeks to trim costs from the business and prepare for a sharemarket listing next year.
Vodafone said in December that a consultation process was under way with its 3000 staff about a ‘‘new organisational model’’ that could better set up the phone and broadband company for the future.
There was speculation at the time that about 400 jobs could go.
Paris said on Thursday in the comments section on a news story that Vodafone used call centres based overseas in many markets to lower costs and access specialist expertise.
‘‘As a proud and passionate New Zealander my preference is to keep roles in NZ, but when the customer service is the same or better and at much lower cost then it is tough to ignore this option,’’ he said.
Paris made the comment in response to a reader who questioned the ethics of replacing New Zealand workers with workers in India on lower pay.
Paris said that where Vodafone used overseas call centres, it paid staff ‘‘well based on their local market and cost of living’’.
Vodafone spokeswoman Kathy Gieck said the company had categorically ruled out closing either of its Auckland or Christchurch call centres.
‘‘That said, we are looking at a range of options – not just for the call centres but across the business, which may include outsourcing either within New Zealand or offshore, which could include using Vodafone’s global centres of expertise,’’ Gieck said.
Vodafone call centre staff are currently based in Auckland, Christchurch and the Philippines.
In 2011, the company stopped using a contact centre in Cairo, and repatriated 125 jobs to provide what it said would be ‘‘a more consistent experience’’.
On Tuesday, Vodafone said it would reduce its senior management team by 10 roles, and promised to provide certainty to all staff on their jobs by the end of March.