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Story URL: http://www.silicon.com/research/specialreports/offshoring/0,3800003026,39125817,00.htm

Lloyds TSB to offshore 1,000 jobs to India
But the trade union urges customers not to switch accounts

By Andy McCue

Published: Wednesday 10 November 2004

Lloyds TSB is to outsource up to 1,000 more jobs to India in a move that will see its offshore workforce reach 2,500 by the end of next year.

The roles affected are in the Cheltenham & Gloucester mortgage business; group operations and group IT; and general insurance.

Although there will be some job losses Lloyds TSB insisted in a memo to staff that anyone whose job disappears through offshoring will be offered an alternative role within the organisation.

The new offshore roles will be created at Lloyds TSB's operations in Bangalore and Mumbai.

The memo, from the bank's director of group IT and operations, also said the bank will be putting leaflets in branches from next week to explain to customers why it is offshoring and what it sees as potential benefits.

The move has also been agreed with trade union Unifi-Amicus under the terms of the offshoring consultation agreement reached earlier this year, where Lloyds TSB committed to engage the union at the concept stage of any offshoring moves.

The latest agreement represents something of a sea-change in how unions deal with the ever-increasing trend for offshoring, particularly in financial services, with the major concern now that it is handled sensitively when it happens rather than just outright opposition.

Iain MacLean, national secretary for Unifi-Amicus, said: "What Unifi-Amicus will not do…is resort to exaggerated claims of impending catastrophe or undermine the job security of Lloyds TSB staff by encouraging customers to close their accounts because of offshoring. We believe that constructive engagement with Lloyds TSB on this difficult issue will best serve the interests of staff."

MacLean said the union has also recently undertaken an on-the-spot study of Lloyds TSB's operations in Mumbai and Bangalore to check the standards that are being applied.

"It is clear from this study that the security and customer care standards adopted in India are comparable with those applied in the UK," he said.

The Confederation of British Industry this week said offshoring is a "survival issue" for UK businesses but some companies have taken up an anti-offshoring stance to try and appeal to disgruntled customers concerned about the impact on UK jobs. One, the Natwest bank, recently even pushed its 'no offshoring' commitment in a TV advertising campaign.