Australian retail giant Officeworks is set to offshore hundreds of jobs to India and the Philippines as part of a sweeping business overhaul focused on cutting costs and boosting efficiency, according to multiple media reports.
Dozens of workers at the company’s Western Sydney customer service centre were informed this week that their jobs had been made redundant. Their roles will now be handled by a support centre in Manila, Philippines.
The company is also preparing to move more office and technology roles from Sydney and Melbourne to Bengaluru, India, over the coming months.
Internal plans seen by ABC reveal the changes will happen in three phases to limit disruption.
AI expansion
Staff were told Officeworks would increase its use of AI, automation and data-driven systems to improve efficiency and decision-making.
The retailer said the transformation was necessary as businesses faced mounting pressure from rising costs and changing consumer expectations.
“With rising costs, increasing competition and rapidly changing customer expectations, this transformation is critical to strengthening our growth, resilience and competitiveness in a fast-evolving retail landscape,” a spokesperson said.
“As part of this program, some activities currently performed in our Australian support office will transition to a new global centre in Bengaluru to support our stores and support offices.
“The work currently done by our customer service centre is transitioning to an experienced provider in Manila with an ongoing Australian presence.”
Talent shortage
University of Sydney international business professor Vikas Kumar said moving customer service jobs offshore was largely about reducing costs.
However, he warned that the growing trend of sending high-skilled technology and AI jobs overseas highlighted a major skills gap in Australia.
"We don't have the level of the expertise and the numbers that you need," he said. "It just makes more sense to do it in countries such as India where you have this kind of talent.
"For the workforce, this is the biggest problem, at least in the short term."
Professor Kumar said Australia had failed to properly invest in future technology skills for decades.
"If we don't do it now, we will create an even bigger vacuum into the future," he said.
"We should be concerned that this is something that is going out of the country, and it probably will never come back."
Hundreds affected
Officeworks India has already started hiring for around 50 sales, technology and analyst positions in Bengaluru.
The company has not confirmed exactly how many Australian roles will eventually be moved offshore. However, ABC reports hundreds of positions are expected to shift overseas.
Officeworks stressed that most of its workforce would remain in Australia, particularly store-based and customer-facing employees.
“This is difficult for affected team members, who will be supported with redundancy entitlements alongside redeployment opportunities and outplacement support where possible,” the spokesperson said.
The retailer also said planned store expansions would create more jobs locally.
Wider trend
Officeworks joins a growing list of Australian companies shifting white-collar jobs overseas.
Earlier this year, National Australia Bank cut hundreds of Australian roles while moving some operations to India and Vietnam.
Telstra has also announced plans to axe up to 650 jobs as part of its own India expansion strategy.
The changes at Officeworks are being overseen by managing director John Gualtieri, who previously led Wesfarmers-owned brands Kmart and Target.
Both Kmart and Target already operate a major “global capability centre” in Bengaluru with around 500 staff working in business and technology roles.
Strong profits
The offshore expansion comes despite solid financial results for Officeworks.
The retailer reported revenue of $3.565 billion, up 3.8% , while earnings climbed 1.9% to $212 million in its 2025 full-year results.
When questioned about the offshoring decision, a federal government spokesperson said Canberra wanted businesses to prioritise Australian jobs.
The move highlights the growing pressure on Australian workers as companies increasingly look overseas for cheaper operations, AI talent and long-term cost savings.