by King White, on Jun 4, 2026 7:00:00 AM
Site Selection Group (SSG) tracks global contact center expansions, new openings, consolidations, and downsizing activity through ongoing market research across onshore, nearshore, and offshore locations. Our monthly data is designed to help contact center leaders better understand where the industry is growing, shifting, and recalibrating worldwide.
May 2026 delivered one of the strongest months of the year so far, with more than 8,200 announced jobs across six new sites and expansions, and just a single closure on the books. The Philippines once again asserted itself as the dominant force in global BPO growth, while India attracted a high-profile industrial entrant and Honduras emerged as a notable nearshore story. On the U.S. side, the market remained quiet, with only a small BPO closure in Arizona registering activity.
Through the first five months of 2026, SSG has tracked more than 29,600 announced jobs across 55 expansions and new sites globally, reflecting continued demand for scalable, cost-competitive delivery models despite ongoing automation headwinds.
May 2026 Snapshot
Year-To-Date Performance: January – May 2026
Top Expansion and New Site Announcements
Closures and Downsizing
Regional Highlights
Philippines Leads Global Volume Again
Concentrix’s announcement of a 4,000-job new site in Quezon City was the largest single expansion globally in May and pushed the Philippines back to the top of the global leaderboard for the month. Year-to-date, the Philippines has captured a significant share of global BPO-led growth, reinforcing its status as the preferred destination for voice support, healthcare services, financial operations, and complex customer experience programs. Iloilo, Clark, Alabang, and the Manila Bay Area continue to attract operators alongside the established Quezon City and Makati hubs.
India: An Industrial Entrant Changes the Mix
BASF’s 3,000-job new site in Hyderabad is an unusual entrant in the contact center absorption data — an industrial company standing up a sizable customer-facing or shared services operation in one of India’s most established tech and BPO markets. This move reinforces that India remains a first-call destination for global enterprise operations at scale. Hyderabad’s labor pool, infrastructure, and cost profile continue to attract large-footprint commitments.
Honduras Puts Central America on the Map
Horatio’s 1,000-job new site in San Pedro Sula is the kind of announcement that validates a market. Honduras has historically operated in the shadow of larger nearshore competitors like Colombia, Guatemala, and the Dominican Republic — but the combination of Spanish- and English-bilingual talent, competitive wage structures, and improving infrastructure is attracting serious operators. San Pedro Sula is the country’s industrial capital and its largest city, offering a labor base that extends well beyond traditional nearshore talent hubs.
Japan and Scotland: Smaller Moves, Broader Signal
transcosmos’s 200-job new site in Sendai City continues Japan’s steady expansion of domestic BPO delivery capacity outside of Tokyo. Sendai offers lower operating costs and a growing talent base for Japanese-language customer service operations. Meanwhile, Broadridge’s undisclosed new site in Glasgow adds to Scotland’s growing profile as a financial services operations hub within the UK.
Egypt Returns with a Quieter Presence
Nokia’s new site in Egypt (job count undisclosed) follows TTEC’s 3,500-job Cairo expansion in April and signals continued momentum for Egypt as a multilingual customer care and technology support destination. With cost advantages over European alternatives and strong Arabic, French, and English talent availability, Egypt is increasingly appearing on the shortlist for EMEA-facing operations.
U.S. Market: One Closure, No New Activity
May was quiet on the domestic front. Advanced Call Center Technologies closed its San Luis, Arizona operation, displacing 232 workers — the only U.S. activity for the month. The closure reflects continued pressure on smaller U.S.-based BPO operators competing against lower-cost offshore and nearshore alternatives.
What It Means for Contact Center Leaders
May reinforces several durable themes that have defined global contact center location strategy in 2026:
- The Philippines is not slowing down. It continues to attract investment from Tier 1 BPO operators at a pace that outpaces virtually every other global market.
- India’s relevance extends beyond traditional BPO. Enterprise companies in sectors like industrial manufacturing are building customer-facing operations at scale in Hyderabad, Pune, and Chennai.
- Central America is maturing as a nearshore market. Honduras joins Guatemala, El Salvador, Colombia, and the Dominican Republic as a credible delivery destination for U.S.-facing bilingual programs.
- U.S. operations remain under pressure. Smaller operators without a differentiated value proposition continue to struggle against the cost advantage of offshore and nearshore alternatives.
- Undisclosed job counts on several announcements, Nokia and Broadridge, mean the real May numbers are almost certainly higher than 8,200.
Conclusion
Site Selection Group tracks global contact center openings, expansions, consolidations, and labor market shifts each month to help companies understand where the industry is growing, evolving, and becoming more competitive. Our research spans onshore, nearshore, and offshore markets to provide timely insight into location trends shaping the contact center industry.
If your organization is evaluating contact center location strategy, outsourcing opportunities, labor market conditions, or portfolio optimization, our team is available to help you make informed decisions. SSG operates exclusively on behalf of occupiers and tenants. We never represent landlords or outsourcing providers, so our advisory is always conflict-free.
