update Australian beer and wine giant Fosters Group will outsource much of its internal IT department to Indian outsourcer Wipro, according to multiple sources.
People familiar with the situation said Fosters Group would outsource its IT department to Wipro, with the transition to occur before the end of the year. The move was also tipped in the Crikey newsletter this afternoon.
A spokesperson for the company did not immediately return calls and Wipro Australia could not immediately be contacted, but Foster's said in its annual results presentation that it had established a strategic partnership in the area of information technology, among other arrangements recently signed.
Sources said said Foster's was planning to move its internal service desk to India by November, with the rest of the support teams spread out in different locations.
Several weeks ago an anonymous Crikey tipster claimed the company was getting ready to outsource its IT department to an Indian company. "Estimated 70 Australian IT jobs to go offshore. 25th August is the key date," they wrote.
At the time, a spokesperson for the company confirmed it was conducting what it described as an "enterprise architecture" review that would touch its Business Process and IT department, led by chief information officer Andrew Leyden.
The spokesperson said Foster's had been very open with its IT staff about the review, but had not as yet gone into what the specific options were on the table. They declined to specifically confirm or deny the Crikey allegations as per their normal approach to "rumour and speculation".
How's that for an 'iconic Australian brand'?