AAPT to move Sydney call centre to the Philippines

AAPT has announced plans to offshore its consumer call centre functions from Glebe, in Sydney's inner-west, to Manilla in the Philippines.

Staff were advised of the decision yesterday, in an internal e-mail stating that the Sydney call centre will be closed by October 31, 2010.

iTnews understands all "customer experience" staff were terminated yesterday. Further positions are expected to be phased out by October.

An AAPT spokesperson told iTnews' sister publication CRN that 80 staff are affected. "We'll do whatever we can [to place them] in different parts of the business."

The spokesperson said that the decision to offshore affects all only "Level 1 and 2" support functions. One third of AAPT's call centre resources remain in Australia, the spokesperson said.

"We have a large business solutions division and a large wholesale division and there a lot of call centre functions.

"Technical support and wholesale support functions are still located in Australia."

AAPT has been in the process of offshoring its call centre operations to Manila in the past two years. 

In April, Computerworld reported that AAPT had axed 20 Sydney staff in the Sydney Glebe call centre.

In the AAPT's May 27 Investor Day presentation, CEO Paul Broad said offshoring of consumer call centre functions would likely reduce call centre costs by $27 million by the 2011 Financial Year.