Accenture lays off 500 workers

US-based outsourcing firm Accenture is laying off almost half its workforce in the Philippine capital due to the effects of the global financial crisis, the Department of Labor and Employment said yesterday.

Accenture Philippines has filed a notice of retrenchment for about 500 workers at its facilities in Manila, said Labor Undersecretary Rosalinda Baldoz.

Accenture, which engages in business process outsourcing, including call centers, had about a thousand workers in Manila and in March 2008 it opened an office in the central city of Cebu which employs about 500 people.

Call centers and other outsourced business processes have become a major industry in the Philippines.

Industry leaders had previously predicted that the sector would not be affected by the global financial turmoil as companies in developed countries would outsource more of their functions abroad to save money during the crisis. AFP