Officeworks plan to offshore jobs 'about lower cost of labour', staff say

Officeworks plans to offshore Sydney jobs all about replacing staff with cheap labour, staff say Mon 1 Jun 2026 at 7:00am In short: Officeworks staff impacted by the company's plan to offshore some white-collar jobs say it is an attempt to cut labour costs. A spokeswoman for the company says the majority of roles, including its in-store and fulfilment centre jobs would remain in Australia. A retailing expert says it is "a short-term solution to a profitability issue", with long-term implications for Australian workers. Employees of Officeworks say the company's plans to shift hundreds of white-collar jobs to India and the Philippines are an attempt to cut labour costs at the expense of local customer service. The ABC has revealed the Australian office products retailer will replace its Sydney-based customer service centre staff with a call centre in the Philippines and plans to base hundreds of other staff in India in coming months. The company said it wanted a "globally connected team" and to keep costs low for customers, but disgruntled staff have told the ABC they believe they are being replaced with cheaper labour. One current employee, who asked not to be identified to speak freely, said staff with 20 years' tenure at the business were dismissed in an online meeting. "There was no send-off celebration funded by the business, only a digital card which got emailed around for people to send messages to," the employee said. "Whilst I understand that there is skill capability overseas, the truth is the capability exists here in Australia as well. "I one hundred per cent believe the move is about the lower cost of labour overseas compared with Australia." A photo sent to the ABC shows a poster created by staff in the style of Officeworks' "price dropped" slogan suggesting morale had been impacted by recent job cuts. Internal communications sent to staff said the new offices in Manila and Bengaluru would operate as "fully integrated extensions" of the Australian business and enable access to global talent as it increased reliance on AI. An Officeworks spokeswoman reiterated in a statement the majority of roles, including its in-store and fulfilment centre jobs, would remain in Australia and that it was preparing to open new stores around the country. But the company declined to respond to further questions about staff concerns. In response to the ABC's initial story, Officeworks managing director John Gualtieri emailed all staff, saying the company valued "doing the right thing" and wanted to be as transparent as possible with employees. Move to 'global capability centres' Many companies, including Australian firms, have begun to open hubs called "global capability centres" in the Indian city of Bengaluru, which has a concentration of workers with skills in artificial intelligence and technology. A website for Officeworks' "global capability centre" is advertising about 50 jobs in technology and digital transformation, some of which require up to 15 years' experience. The ABC has also been contacted by an employee of the Officeworks-owned brand Geeks2U, whose local staff have been going through a redundancy process. The person said Geeks2U staff saw their jobs advertised in the Philippine capital Manila before staff consultation was complete. "It's been so disappointing to be treated this way by a company I thought of as reputable," the worker said. The ABC understands Geeks2U office staff and over-the-phone technical support will be based in Manila, and it will contract Australian workers for in-person visits. 'We have AI development skills here' University of Sydney retail expert Lisa Asher said Officeworks parent company Wesfarmers was putting shareholders above Australian workers in a decision that could hurt its bottom line in other ways. "It is a short-term solution to a profitability issue that's going to have long-term implications on employment options for people in Australia," she said. "If people don't have jobs, they can't go shopping." Wesfarmers' last financial report showed the company was in a strong financial position, with revenue up 3.6 per cent to $23.5 billion in the half year to December 2025. But Officeworks has been an underperformer, with managing director John Gualtieri announcing earlier this year that the company needed a strategic shift to make it viable. Ms Asher rejected suggestions Australia does not have the right talent base to build artificial intelligence models here. "We certainly have those AI development skills here," she said. "Our number of students that are enrolling now into programs or computer science, as well as AI, have gone up significantly." NSW Finance Minister Courtney Houssos told the ABC the decision by Officeworks was unfortunate. "It's always disappointing when companies make decisions to move jobs offshore," she said. "I think it's really up to Officeworks to explain that particular decision."