Australia's offshoring push to India gains momentum

07.06.2006
At a time when Australia's biggest banks are reviewing their offshoring options IBM has announced it will invest US$6 billion in India over the next three years.

IBM has about 43,000 staff in India, and is using the country as a base for offering services to its customers worldwide including Australia.

The announcement follows claims by the Financial Services Union (FSU) that Westpac's current cost cutting regime includes sending jobs to India by the end of the year.

A Westpac spokesperson confirmed today no decision has been made although a review is well underway.

ANZ already has 1000 software development staff in Bangalore, India.

An ANZ spokesperson confirmed pilots are underway to move more jobs offshore. However, they are operational roles, not IT.