by King White, on Jan 23, 2017 2:00:39 PM
The call center industry continued its solid growth pattern with the creation of 169,060 jobs at 386 call center facilities across the world in 2016. With over 65,000 of those jobs created in the U.S., domestic expansion and reshoring initiatives have enabled the United States to maintain its robust job growth for the year. Outside the U.S., Latin America and the Philippines continue to be the hottest regions for expansion during the site selection process. Latin America created an estimated 14,800 jobs and the Philippines announced more than 28,000 new jobs primarily driven by the high-growth business process outsourcing sector.
Politics have created uncertainty for nearshore and offshore expansion
The changing political environment is causing a lot of uncertainty for companies seeking to determine a site selection strategy. The election of President Rodrigo Duterte in the Philippines created an initial flurry of concern when Duterte told U.S. businesses to pack their bags if they didn't like his anti-American rhetoric. The call center and business process outsourcing (BPO) industry became very nervous as a result.
Now we have pressure coming from President Donald Trump on companies offshoring anything from call centers, IT services, and manufacturing. Trump has vowed to bring offshored jobs home from places such as the Philippines, which could have a big impact on the industry. If Trump’s recent actions toward the automotive industry are an indication of what is to come for the call center industry, nearshore and offshore expansion may be significantly impacted in the near future and onshore activity may be on the rise.
Top onshore, nearshore, and offshore project announcements of 2016
Despite these political shifts, the call center industry continues to grow in all regions. Site Selection Group has identified our Top 20 Onshore, Nearshore & Offshore Call Center Deals of 2016 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 2016:
Top 20 Onshore Call Center Projects of 2016
| Company | # of Jobs | Location | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Radial | 3,200 | Melbourne, FL | Expansion |
| Sutherland Group | 2,000 | Las Vegas, NV | New Site |
| Maximus | 2,000 | Rochester, NY | New Site |
| ADP | 1,800 | Norfolk, VA | New Site |
| ADP | 1,600 | Orlando, FL | New Site |
| State Farm Insurance | 1,500 | Atlanta, GA | Expansion |
| ADP | 1,500 | Tempe, AZ | New Site |
| The Results Companies | 1,300 | Blue Bell, PA | Expansion |
| Charles Schwab | 1,200 | Southlake, TX | New Site |
| Radial | 1,150 | Brunswick, GA | Expansion |
| C3 | 1,100 | Tucson, AZ | Expansion |
| State Farm Insurance | 1,000 | Richardson, TX | Expansion |
| Safelite Autoglass | 900 | Rio Rancho, NM | New Site |
| Kaiser Permanente | 800 | Atlanta, GA | New Site |
| Expert Global Solutions | 800 | High Point, NC | Expansion |
| Alorica | 800 | Owensboro, KY | New Site |
| Comcast | 700 | Liberty Lake, WA | New Site |
| Global Response | 700 | Margate, FL | Expansion |
| Radial | 600 | Eau Claire, WI | Expansion |
| Alorica | 600 | El Paso, TX | Expansion |
Top 20 Nearshore Call Center Projects of 2016
| Company | # of Jobs | Location | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atento | 2,000 | Bogota, Colombia | New Site |
| Nextel Brasil | 2,000 | Recife, Brazil | New Site |
| Sutherland Global | 1,500 | Jamaica | Expansion |
| Amazon | 1,500 | San Jose, Costa Rica | Expansion |
| IBEX | 1,000 | Portmore, Jamaica | New Site |
| 3M | 1,000 | San Jose, Cosa Rica | New Site |
| Equifax | 1,000 | San Jose, Costa Rica | New Site |
| Sykes | 900 | Costa Rica | Expansion |
| Concentrix | 700 | San Jose, Costa Rica | Expansion |
| Acquire BPO | 700 | Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic | New Site |
| Global Telesourcing | 520 | Monterrey, Mexico | Expansion |
| EGS | 500 | Guatemala City, Guatemala | New Site |
| IBEX Global | 400 | Managua, Nicaragua | New Site |
| Atento | 400 | Valparaiso, Chile | New Site |
| Advantage Communications | 350 | Jamaica | Expansion |
| Concentrix | 350 | Managua, Nicaragua | New Site |
| Uber | 300 | San Jose, Costa Rica | New Site |
| IBEX | 300 | St. Catherine, Jamaica | Expansion |
| CGS | 300 | Valparaiso City, Chile | New Site |
| KM2 Solutions | 200 | Grenville, Grenada | Expansion |
Top 20 Offshore Call Center Projects of 2016
| Company | # of Jobs | Location | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alorica | 8,000 | Philippines | Expansion |
| Concentrix | 6,000 | Quezon City, Philippines | New Site |
| Aegis | 5,000 | India | Expansion |
| Accenture | 5,000 | Ilocos Norte, Philippines | New Site |
| Alorica | 3,500 | Philippines | Expansion |
| Regus | 3,500 | Davao, Philippines | New Site |
| iQor | 3,150 | Philippines | Expansion |
| Alorica | 3,000 | Makati, Philippines | New Site |
| ePerformax | 2,700 | Roxas, Philippines | New Site |
| Convergys | 2,400 | Cebu, Philippines | Expansion |
| Sykes | 2,200 | Alabang, Philippines | New Site |
| Ascent BPO | 2,000 | Philippines | Expansion |
| Teleperformance | 1,600 | Oro, Philippines | New Site |
| EGS | 1,500 | Davao City, Philippines | New Site |
| Tata Consulting | 1,500 | Pampanga, Philippines | New Site |
| Azpired | 1,300 | Oro, Philippines | New Site |
| American Express | 1,300 | Taguig City, Philippines | New Site |
| Qualfon | 1,200 | Manila, Philippines | New Site |
| [24]7 | 1,100 | Bengaluru, India | Expansion |
| Panasiatic Solutions | 1,000 | Bacolod, Philippines | Expansion |
| Tata Consulting Services | 1,000 | Varanasi, India | New Site |
| Shearwater Health | 900 | Philippines | New Site |
| Xerox | 800 | Philippines | Expansion |
| Concentrix | 800 | Cebu, Philippines | Expansion |
| Motif | 750 | Ahmedabad, India | New Site |
