This story about Woolworths offshoring jobs is by ABC business reporter Gareth Hutchens, who is one of the best. As Australia teeters on a recession, it’s hard to think of a bigger pack of bastards than Woolworths.
The Youtube post sums it up:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wz_5LV56jxs
“Woolworths is the latest in a string of companies to announce plans to shift some operations offshore, following similar announcements by Telstra, NAB, and Officeworks.
The retailer would not confirm how many of its 10,000 corporate employees would be affected, but the ABC understands hundreds will be affected in teams including People, IT and Finance.
As the Woolies federal court case wraps up and the Coles matter awaits judgment, here’s what we’ve learned from the high-stakes cases.
In a statement, a Woolworths spokesperson said to remain competitive with the rapid expansion of international players in Australia’s market, and to keep delivering lower prices for customers, it wanted to remove complexity and drive efficiency across its business.
“We have for many years had teams located throughout Asia and longstanding managed service arrangements in place,” they said.
“We regularly review these to ensure we are accessing the best global capabilities and lowering our costs, to ensure we are offering the best value for our customers.
“As one of Australia’s largest employers in a dynamic and competitive sector, we consistently reshape our business and find ways to be more efficient, to enable us to continue to drive growth and invest in local communities.”
The spokesperson said the company expected to open 24 new stores, creating about 2,500 roles in the year ahead, across Australia and New Zealand.
Last year, Woolworths Group chief executive Amanda Barwell said she was repositioning the business for long-term sustainable growth and planned to achieve savings of $400 million in “above-store support office costs”.
The supermarket giant is the latest in a string of companies to announce plans to shift some operations offshore, including the National Australia Bank and Telstra, which has said it would axe up to 650 roles in favour of jobs in India.
Last month, Officeworks, which is owned by parent company Wesfarmers, announced plans to offshore hundreds of jobs to India and the Philippines.
Supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths expect to spend hundreds of millions of dollars more to repay staff the companies underpaid, following a legal judgement.
The major retailer said its first-half net profit had fallen 49 per cent, with significant items of $485 million (after tax) due primarily to money having to be set aside to remediate underpaid staff members, after a Federal Court ruling last year.
But when excluding that $485 million charge, it said its first-half net profit was up 16 per cent to $859 million, coming ahead of analysts’ expectations.”