Biggest Onshore, Nearshore & Offshore Call Center Projects of 2017
by King White, on Jan 23, 2018 3:08:35 PM
The call center industry continued its growth trend with the creation of 166,990 jobs at 376 call center facilities across the world in 2017. These results are consistent with 2016 and reinforce the fact that the call center industry is holding steady. With over 66,000 of those jobs created in the U.S., domestic expansion and reshoring initiatives from nearshore and offshore regions have enabled the U.S. to maintain its robust job growth for the year.
Outside the U.S., India, the Philippines and Latin America continue to be the hottest regions for expansion during the site selection process. India created over 30,000 jobs, the Philippines announced more than 24,000, and Latin America created an estimated 16,000 jobs primarily driven by the high-growth business process outsourcing sector.
Geo-political factors influence call center location decisions
Politics continue to play important in the call center site selection decisions. The biggest impact is in the Philippines where President Rodrigo Duterte has put restrictions on giving PEZA economic incentive grants. Site Selection Group’s recent blog on the topic entitled, Philippines Call Center Industry’s Growth at Risk Due to Changes to PEZA Economic Incentive, provides a detailed look at the impact of the new legislation.
In addition to the PEZA issues in the Philippines, China’s restriction on online gambling has forced Chinese companies to enter the Philippines where they are rapidly expanding. This is creating more competition for call center office space. The impact of Chinese online gambling on the Philippines’ labor market is not known since a lot of their employees are relocated from China. It is an interesting trend to watch as it unfolds.
While in the U.S., President Trump’s new corporate tax policies may lighten the tax load on corporations and influence them to expand in the U.S. This may spur further reshoring initiatives from nearshore and offshore geographies. The reality of these tax changes is yet to be seen; however, the intention is to cause investment and job growth into the U.S. economy, which may trickle down to call centers.
The biggest onshore, nearshore and offshore project announcements of 2017
To help understand call center site selection trends, Site Selection Group has identified the largest onshore, nearshore and offshore call center project announcements of 2017 to illustrate the types of deals that are getting done across the globe. These new project announcements were identified through a filtering process based on jobs created, location and community impact. The following table identifies the top new projects announced in 2017:
Top 20 Onshore Call Center Projects of 2017
| Company | # of Jobs | Location | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Radial | 3,000 | Melbourne, FL | Expansion |
| C3 | 2,400 | Tucson, AZ | Expansion |
| Allstate Insurance | 2,250 | Charlotte, NC | Expansion |
| Infosys | 2,000 | Raleigh, NC | New Site |
| Strategic Financial Solutions | 1,500 | Amherst, NY | New Site |
| Navy Federal Credit Union | 1,200 | Winchester, VA | Expansion |
| C3 | 1,200 | McGregor, TX | Expansion |
| Cognizant | 1,090 | Irving, TX | New Site |
| Diversified Collections Inc. | 1,000 | Louisville, KY | New Site |
| Teleperformance | 1,000 | Multiple Sites, FL | Expansion |
| Alorica | 830 | Owensboro, KY | New |
| Royal Philips | 800 | Nashville, TN | New Site |
| Conduent | 750 | Rochester, NY | Expansion |
| Empereon Marketing | 750 | Waco, TX | New Site |
| Paychex | 625 | Henrietta, NY | New Site |
| Bookings.com | 600 | Toronto, ON | New Site |
| Radial | 600 | Eau Claire, WI | Expansion |
| Alorica | 600 | High Point, NC | Expansion |
| Alta Resources | 600 | Fort Myers, FL | Expansion |
| Lowe's | 600 | Wilkesboro, NC | Expansion |
Top 20 Nearshore Call Center Projects of 2017
| Company | # of Jobs | Location | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alorica | 4,500 | St. Catherine, Jamaica | New Site |
| Amazon | 2,500 | San Jose, Costa Rica | Expansion |
| Qualfon | 1,020 | Guyana | Expansion |
| HGS | 500 | Kingston, Jamaica | Expansion |
| Teleperformance | 500 | Lima, Peru | New Site |
| Sitel | 450 | Managua, Nicaragua | Expansion |
| Tek Experts | 450 | San Jose, Costa Rica | New Site |
| Smile Direct Club | 400 | San Jose, Costa Rica | Expansion |
| IBEX Global | 350 | Managua, Nicaragua | Expansion |
| Conduent | 300 | Jamaica | Expansion |
| Santander | 300 | San Juan, Puerto Rico | New Site |
| Microsoft | 280 | San Jose, Costa Rica | Expansion |
| Atento | 200 | Chaco, Argentina | New Site |
| Collective Solution | 200 | Montego Bay, Jamaica | New Site |
| Iqor | 200 | Trinidad & Tobago | Expansion |
| Feuji | 150 | San Jose, Costa Rica | Expansion |
| Transperfect | 120 | San Jose, Costa Rica | New Site |
| AstraZeneca | 100 | San Jose, Costa Rica | New Site |
| Roche | 100 | San Jose, Costa Rica | New Site |
| Advantage Communications | 50 | Portmore, Jamaica | New Site |
Top 20 Offshore Call Center Projects of 2017
| Company | # of Jobs | Location | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tata Consulting Services | 6,000 | Philippines | Expansion |
| [24]7 | 3,000 | India | Expansion |
| Tata Consulting Services | 3,000 | Patna, India | New Site |
| C3 | 2,800 | Philippines | Expansion |
| Aegis | 2,000 | Malaysia | New Site |
| Aegis | 2,000 | Ranchi, India | New Site |
| iSonBPO | 1,200 | Kwara State, Nigeria | New |
| Patra Corporation | 1,000 | India | New Site |
| Tata Consulting Services | 1,000 | Patna, India | New |
| Accenture | 1,000 | Cebu, Philippines | Expansion |
| Alorica | 1,000 | Makati, Philippines | New Site |
| Fintru | 1,000 | Philippines | New Site |
| Accenture | 800 | Cebu, Philippines | New Site |
| Sitel | 800 | Baguio, Philippines | New Site |
| Merck | 675 | Philippines | Expansion |
| PMAX Global | 600 | Cebu, Philippines | New Site |
| MattsenKumar | 550 | Jaipur, India | New Site |
| Teleperformance | 500 | Penang, Malaysia | New Site |
| Uber | 500 | Hyderabad, India | Expansion |
| Sykes | 500 | Cebu, Philippines | New Site |