INQUIRER file photo
MANILA, Philippines – Business process outsourcing firm Sutherland Global Services has broken ground for a new corporate campus south of Metro Manila as part of its expansion plans in the country.
According to its officials, the United States-based company will invest $50 million to build a new BPO and information technology hub in Carmona, Cavite, which will add 8,000 personnel to the 13,000 contact center agents it employs nationwide.
“When the current expansion is completed and once the campus becomes fully operational, Sutherland would have had a significant expansion to its headcount in the Philippines,” the company said in a statement.
Globally, Sutherland is one of the world’s largest “pure play” BPO companies with more than 30,000 people working out of its 35 operations centers in 10 countries, namely the US, the Philippines, India, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Bulgaria, the United Kingdom, Canada, Mexico and Colombia.
The groundbreaking ceremony for the campus was held last Wednesday with President Benigno Aquino III as the guest of honor and Sutherland Global Services chair and CEO Dilip Vellodi presiding.
Since its launch in the Philippines in 2005, Sutherland has seen a rapid expansion of its operations, growing to 13,000 employees in seven years.
Currently, more than 70 percent of the company’s services are delivered from cities outside Metro Manila, part of Sutherland’s BPO initiative in the provinces in partnership with the government.
Vellodi cited “a favorable economic environment, availability of high-quality talents, a robust infrastructure and business-friendly government policies” as the prime drivers of the company’s rapid expansion in the country.
“The Carmona campus will be an integrated delivery center for our global clients,” he said.
Established in 1986, Sutherland is a global BPO and technology-enabled services company and one of the largest, independent BPO companies serving major corporations.
“Sutherland’s exponential growth in the Philippines has been marked by a drive to be best in the industry,” Mr. Aquino said in his speech.
“We truly appreciate the rapid growth Sutherland has achieved in our country over the last seven years providing significant employment opportunities to our talented young workforce,” he said.
The President emphasized his administration’s focus on aiding the growth of the local BPO industry, which surpassed India last year in the call center category.
“By the time I step down in 2016, we are looking at revenues that will have more than doubled to $25 billion and 4.5 million jobs—1.3 million directly as a result of the BPO sector and 3.2 million indirect jobs,” Aquino said.