ANOTHER US-BASED BUSINESS PROCESS outsourcing (BPO) firm has set up shop in the Philippines, planning to hire 2,000 local employees this year.

In a briefing on Tuesday, Cybernet-Slash Support (CSS) announced the opening of its 1,000-seat facility in Taguig, which would be used for the company?s outbound sales, technology and other integrated BPO services for clients in North America.

The new site, which currently employs 400 people, is the first Philippine site for the company which has over 4,000 workers around the world.

?CSS plans to increase its headcount in the Philippines to around 2,000 people by 2010. This is in line with the company?s aspiration to emerge as a strong player in the Philippines? BPO space,? CSS said in a statement.

Nick Sharma, CSS?s chief executive, said the company was lured in by the country?s ?highly conducive? business atmosphere and talent pool of experienced BPO professionals.

?The Philippines has emerged as one of the key global hubs for the BPO industry,? Sharma said.

?We felt this is the most opportune time to expand our capabilities in the Philippines and extend our portfolio of superior, effective support services to customers,? he added.

He said the company has committed around $15 million to develop its business in the Philippines, which in three to four years time would be the CSS?s biggest facility.

The company plans to employ mostly computer-related or engineering graduates who will be expected to provide both technical and customer support for the company?s clients in the information technology, retail and healthcare sectors.

Based in San Jose California, CSS currently has people working out of its global operations centers in India, the US, Poland and now, the Philippines.

Its big-ticket clients include American telecommunications giant Alcatel-Lucent and tech firm Sun Microsystems & Blackboard Inc.

The government expects the local BPO sector to post as much as $13 billion in revenue this year. The industry is also expected to have between 650,000 and 900,000 employees this year, up from 400,000 in 2009.