Some 180 staff will move to Indian outsourcer Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) under TUPE regulations. It is not yet clear whether the phone retailer’s systems will continue to be run from the UK or moved offshore.
At the same time, 60 head office staff in support functions face redundancy and are in consultation with Phones 4U after being told that their jobs are at risk. The consultation process is scheduled to last for between 30 and 60 days.
A spokeswoman for the company said that the two developments were separate, with the support functions being streamlined following a review.
She added: “The business is performing well and despite the tough retail environment, we are outperforming the market and are satisfied with our performance. Our key reasons for outsourcing are to increase capacity, acquire better access to key skills and create a more flexible IT model.”
The 2007 accounts of Phones 4U’s parent company MobileServ stated that one of the key areas of risk in the business was the development of its IT infrastructure. However, the document states that it continues to invest heavily in IT to “maintain its effectiveness, integrity and security”.
Phones 4U said that it will retain about 20 senior IT staff in house. They will be responsible for IT strategy and governance, IT planning, programme management and service management.
Tata Consultancy Services confirmed it has been selected by Phones 4U as the sole bidder to become the phone retailer’s “IT services business partner”. However, it said that negotiations are still under way and until they are complete it is not able to discuss the appointment in detail.
TCS inked a similar deal with Somerfield in 2006, under which it took over the running of the grocer’s IT operations, with TCS staff based in the UK fronting the relationship and a small team of staff retained by the grocer to control IT strategy.
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