Coles Plans to Offshore Hundreds of Corporate Jobs to India
Synopsis
The supermarket giant is reportedly expanding its partnership with Accenture, with hundreds—potentially more than 1,000—roles across marketing, finance, HR and technology expected to move offshore.
Coles offshore jobs will be the main focus of major workforce restructuring, after the retailer revealed on Monday they will be sending hundreds of back office jobs to India.
The plan, following a new deal struck with Accenture, will affect thousands of office-based roles within finance, IT, human resources, procurement and marketing, but will not affect supermarket and liquor store workers, liquor retailers in Liquorland, First Choice Liquor Market, Vintage Cellars or distribution center workers.
Coles has begun consultation with its employees about what jobs could be affected, has not provided final numbers regarding job numbers but stated according to reports between 1000 and possibly many more than 1000 jobs total in the transition.
The rollout is aimed to make support services easier to manage and streamline business delivery and Coles noted those affected will receive appropriate support.
Retailers Continue Reviewing Corporate Support Operations
Cole's proposal to send jobs offshore follows the trend by major Australian businesses consolidating finance, IT and administration functions at offshore centers while using customer-facing teams at home.
India currently has the most Global Shared Center's (GSC) with 1900 across various global enterprises with over 2 million professionals involved in the tech, finance, engineering, analytics, and business sectors.
In addition, the Philippines remains one of the top destinations for contact and call centers and customer support centers while Poland is becoming increasingly popular in finance, technology and Business Process services.
This comes after a period of cost pressure on the Australian retail industry, with rises in labor, shipping, and operation prices. Coles brought in $43.68 billion in sales during FY24-an increase of 6.7%-and posted a net profit after tax up 2.1% for the year, to $1.13 billion. At the last financial reporting, Coles had more than 120,000 team members.
The proposed job cuts are among the list of major Australian companies reviewing how their Corporate Support Operations are managed while seeking to analyze what investment to pour into retail core operations and technology.
Source: The West Australia
Pooja Malik is a business journalist with over six years of experience covering startups, entrepreneurship, and emerging trends. She has previously worked with leading media platforms such as YourStory Media and BW BusinessWorld, where she reported on business, policy, and market developments. Currently, she serves as Editor at The Inspirepreneur Magazine, where she writes and edits stories across business, lifestyle, and travel, with a focus on clarity, accuracy, and reader relevance.
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