Orcon’s Auckland call centre could be outsourced to Datacom’s Manila operation, following a move by Kordia to consolidate its telecommunications businesses.
Kordia Group CEO Geoff Hunt says Kordia Networks and Orcon will be integrated into one business called Kordia New Zealand. Orcon will remain a brand in the residential and small business market.
Kordia Networks will have a turnover of $161 million and 320 staff. It will be headed by current Orcon CEO Scott Bartlett.
The integration will follow staff consultation on the new structure. Recommended changes include outsourcing 50 Auckland call centre positions to Datacom’s Manila operation.
Bartlett says many affected call centre staff could find jobs at Australia’s second largest DSL broadband provider, iiNet, which operates a call centre in Auckland.
Hunt says in the year to June 2012 there was 27 percent growth in Orcon and 16 percent growth in Kordia Networks, adding that the state owned enterprise "has been evaluating the best format for its network business" in anticipation of a more competitive telco environment.
“The move will also enable us to eliminate the increasing duplication of network infrastructure and associated support staff. And as both businesses have developed services for business customers in parallel, the time is also right to rationalise the product set and present a simple, unified offering to this market,” Hunt says, in a media statement.
Kordia Group has a $400 million turnover with 1400 staff across Australia and New Zealand.
In August Computerworld reported that Kordia was undergoing a strategic review.