US bank Wells Fargo to outsource jobs to India

Even though the US is in the election mode and is under the anti-outsourcing Obama administration, the fourth largest lender there by assets, Wells Fargo has decided to move an unspecified number of jobs to India, as part of its plan to trim cost.

"As part of our efforts to increase efficiency, we are thoughtfully pursuing a strategy for where we grow and where we shift resources over the long-term.

"Businesses and functional areas are investigating what markets are most economically attractive, with access to the best talent, both internationally (including India and the Philippines) and domestically," Wells Fargo & Company spokeswoman Bridget Braxton told PTI from San Francisco, California.

While refusing to reveal the number of jobs that would be moved to India and the Philippines, she, however, said, "The areas of business that would be impacted include the retirement, technology and other business lines."

Already, the lender employs 3,000 people in the country at its Hyderabad and Bangalore offices, while it has 240 in the Philippines, according to the bank.

While refusing to divulge the timing and the number of positions that would be moving offshore, she said, "The timing and the number of positions that would be impacted have not been identified yet, but I can tell you, the majority of our workforce will continue to be based in America. We're the 12th largest private employer in the US employing 1 in 500."

The 150-year-old American financial powerhouse with USD 1.333 trillion in assets as of December 2011 and the largest by market value, has been already present in the country since 2006 as a trade financier and apart from running a technology centre.

About the bank's existing operations here, Braxton said while the bank has no branch or retail operations here, their services here include Wells Fargo India Solutions (WFIS), which is a technology resource center set up in 2006.

Apart from this fully-owned centre based in Hyderabad, it also has another similar centre in Bangalore, she said.

While in the Philippines, the bank was present since 1976, it opened a customer service centre called Wells Fargo Philippines Solutions (WFPS) in Manila last year, Braxton said.

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