Australian electricity retailer TRUenergy has decided to outsource 200 Melbourne jobs, some of them to India, under an agreement with IBM Australia.

According to Richard McIndoe, managing director, TRUenergy, “The move is a part of the company’s response to "a very competitive retail market”. Outsourcing these operations will improve TRUenergy’s operating systems, enabling the business to maintain competitive prices for customers.”

Of the affected TRUenergy employees, 66 would be transfered to IBM to continue their roles, and IBM would offer about 30 other positions to affected TRUenergy employees.

The 10-year agreement with IBM includes outsourcing of customer registration systems, billing, credit and collections as well as the development and maintenance of IT applications.

Outsourced customer service positions will be performed in Australia while back-office functions such as administration of credit and billing will be performed in Bangalore.

The company has spoken to employees individually about how they will be affected. Employees who are not offered employment with IBM or TRUenergy will receive their full leave and redundancy entitlements as well as counselling and help finding a new job.

PTI