Commonwealth Bank (ASX: CBA) recently reaffirmed its position on offshoring jobs, giving its staff members reassurance that it will not outsource jobs to overseas workers despite the cost benefits that could be realised.
Whilst the Australian banks are set to break record profits, offshoring jobs has been recognised as a key strategy throughout the sector to further cut costs. Westpac (ASX: WBC) and ANZ (ASX: ANZ), along with numerous other financial services companies, have outsourced hundreds of jobs in the last 12 months in order to achieve this. In fact, ANZ has recently confirmed it is considering sending a further 590 call-centre jobs offshore – although a final decision has not yet been made, as reported by The Australian Financial Review (AFR).
CBA has previously highlighted that it would keep jobs within Australia to maintain a competitive advantage in customer service, however, CEO Ian Narev has also warned that organisations that outsource jobs were being exposed to a "high level of operation risk."
According to AFR, a total amount of $5 million can be saved annually for every 100 offshored positions.
Foolish takeaway
Despite analysts expecting that CBA could announce a record full-year $7.7 billion profit on Wednesday, it is excellent to see that the bank is still focused on strong business fundamentals, such as offering outstanding customer service. It's obviously working, with the bank being recognised as the best out of the big four in terms of consumer banking.
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Motley Fool contributor Ryan Newman does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned in this article.
