Apple Closes Indian Contact Center

TMCnet Contributing Editor

For those who cringe every time a company announces a contact center move overseas, the recent closing of one of Apple’s (News - Alert) foreign support centers should bring good tidings. The ipod creator has closed its Bangalore call center facility after only one month and reportedly plans to move operations back to the United States.

The call center in India was originally intended to support the millions of customers that the company had gained in the past year. Apple was quick to highlight the fact that the move would not cause the loss of any U.S. jobs, noting that its ranks were growing both domestically and overall.

Indian media announced that the call center would begin with 1,500 people and would finish the year with 3,000 workers. The call center began operations in April, but after only one month of providing Apple customers with service and support, the company announced its decision to lay off all Indian employees.

Indian-based Apple employees, numbered at only 30, were told simply that the company was revaluating its position and had thought of pulling back its Indian operations. Employees will be given a two-month severance package and the company intends to settle all claims on June 9.

When asked about the closing, Steve Dowling, an Apple spokesperson, stated simply that the company has re-evaluated its plans and has decided to put planned support center growth in other countries.

Apple continues to maintain its sales and marketing division in Bangalore, which employs 25 people. Considering the low cost, high-quality talent available in Bangalore, it is unclear why the company decided to close shop and bolt after only one month of operation.

This pull out comes on the heels of Dell’s (News - Alert) announcement to expand rapidly in India. The Apple competitor announced earlier this year that it intends to double the number of staff in India to 20,000 over the next three years.

However, if we are comparing Apple to Dell, the latter pulled out of India in 2004 when its support center was not delivering the same type of service as the company was accustomed to experiencing. Dell was going through a period of rapid growth and claimed that the Indian operation could not satisfactorily handle the volume of calls coming into the contact center.

Dell’s growth plans for its Indian operations are proof that the company overcame any obstacles to this type of expansion. It is possible that Apple could experience the same thing and perhaps the company simply jumped the gun on its Bangalore launch. Regardless of the eventual outcome, there at least 30 people in the area now looking for work and an economy that will have to look elsewhere for growth.
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Susan J. Campbell is a contributing editor for TMC and has also written for eastbiz.com. To see more of her articles, please visit Susan J. Campbell’s columnist page.