Singapore Airlines, Wipro discuss BPO deal

NEW DELHI: Singapore International Airlines is in talks with the Bangalore-based Wipro Limited to outsource reservations call centre functions from Australia, New Zealand, United States, Canada and possibly UK, over the next one year to a centre in Mumbai. This is part of a trend where several international airlines such as British Airways, Lufthansa, American Airlines, United Airways have already outsourced their reservation services to India as part of their cost cutting drive.

The move leads to shifting 140-odd jobs from call centres in Australia, New Zealand, United States, and Canada to India. Acknowledging that the arrangement is likely to result in some loss of jobs in those markets, SIA said those for whom suitable alternative employment cannot be found will be offered benefits.

The proposal is likely to result in staff changes. Some staff will need to be retained in the restructured unit, while others may be offered alternative positions within the airline for which they are suitably qualified,_ SIA said. The move will lead to Singapore Airlines downsizing its Australian workforce by around 10%.

Justifying the move, SIA said the proposal to outsource these services to India are consistent with the airline_s objective to improve productivity and efficiency by being more cost-effective in the provision of services to customers. _With outsourcing, Singapore Airlines can leverage the service provider_s expertise and economies of scale to achieve greater efficiency in reservations processes,_ SIA added.

Though the move to cut workforce has not been taken favourably in the Australian media, several international airlines, including British Airways, United Airlines, Delta, American Airlines, have over the last three-four years outsourced their reservation and related back-end functions to India shores. Travel-related BPO services is seen as a growing segment in the Indian ITES space. end