BBC to outsource its finance-based work to India

London, Oct 23 (UNI) The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) today said it will outsource its finance-based operations to Indian technology company Xansa, at an estimated 85 million pound contract for a period of 10 years.

This move, touted to save the corporation nearly 200 million pounds over the next 10 years, has angered various Unions and politicians, who expressed concern yesterday, after the BBC made the announcement.

Deputy General Secretary of Bectu which represents BBC staff Gerry Morrissey said, the union feared there may be job losses, and there were ''grave concerns'' about the security of financial details of the staff. ''We will call for an immediate meeting with the BBC about how this will affect staff employed in the finance area and to discuss the security of personal details of the BBC's 26,000 employees,'' he said.

The deal would save over 200 million pounds, equivalent to 1.5 million licence fees, over the life of the contract. ''This will be a major contribution to BBC's target of releasing 355 million pounds of savings to invest in programmes and services,'' a BBC statement said.

The BBC is currently conducting a simplification of its business processes as part of its Future Finance programme, which is delivering further savings of 17 million pounds, the BBC clarified.

Around 250 people would be working on the new BBC contract, a Xansa spokesman said. ''Xansa will provide their services from a blend of locations in the UK and India. All voice contact (customer support) with Xansa will remain in the UK; other services, including transaction processing, will be carried out at Xansa's location in Chennai, India,'' he added.

BBC group finance Director Zarin Patel said, ''By moving our transaction processing to India, we are demonstrating that we are prepared to take bold and imaginative decisions that offer the licence-fee payer great value for money, while still maintaining the highest quality of service delivery.'' UNI XC DKB RA BD1631