Officeworks Plans to Move White-Collar Jobs Overseas

Isobel Roe wrote this story.

The topic is businesses.

The story was published on Monday, June 1, 2026, at 7:00 am.

Officeworks will replace its Sydney customer service staff with a call center in the Philippines.

In short, this is what is happening:

Officeworks staff say the company's plan to move some white-collar jobs overseas is a way to cut labor costs.

A company spokeswoman said most roles, including in-store and fulfillment center jobs, will stay in Australia.

A retail expert says this is a short-term solution to a profitability issue that will have long-term implications for Australian workers.

Officeworks employees say the company's plan to move hundreds of white-collar jobs to India and the Philippines is a way to cut labor costs at the expense of local customer service.

The company will replace its Sydney-based customer service center staff with a call center in the Philippines and will base hundreds of other staff in India in the coming months.

The company wants a globally connected team and to keep costs low for customers, but staff believe they are being replaced with cheaper labor.

A photo shows a poster created by staff in the style of Officeworks's price dropped slogan.

A current employee said staff with 20 years of experience at the business were told about plans for redundancies in an online meeting.

There was no celebration for the staff who were let go, only a digital card sent around for people to send messages.

While there is skill capability overseas, it also exists in Australia.

A poster created by staff suggests morale has been impacted by recent job cuts.

Internal communications said the new offices in Manila and Bengaluru would operate as fully integrated extensions of the Australian business.

John Gualtieri emailed staff saying the company values doing the right thing.

An Officeworks spokeswoman said most roles, including in-store and fulfillment center jobs, would remain in Australia.

The company declined to respond to further questions about staff concerns.

Officeworks managing director John Gualtieri emailed all staff saying the company valued doing the right thing and wanted to be transparent.

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The company is moving to global capability centers.

Many companies have begun to open hubs called global capability centers in the Indian city of Bengaluru.

A website for Officeworks's global capability centre is advertising about 50 jobs in technology and digital transformation.

The Australian office products retailer is joining a trend of businesses looking for highly skilled white-collar workers overseas.

An employee of the Officeworks-owned brand Geeks2U contacted the ABC about a redundancy process.

Geeks2U staff saw their jobs advertised in Manila before staff consultation was complete.

It's disappointing to be treated this way by a company I thought was reputable.

Geeks2U customer support staff will be based in Manila, and the company will contract Australian workers for in-person visits.

We have AI development skills here.

University of Sydney retail expert Lisa Asher said Officeworks's parent company is putting shareholders above Australian workers.

It is a short-term solution to a profitability issue that will have long-term implications on employment options for people in Australia.

If people don't have jobs, they can't go shopping.

Lisa Asher says the move will have long-term implications for Australian workers.

Wesfarmers's last financial report showed the company was in a strong financial position.

But Officeworks has been an underperformer, with managing director John Gualtieri announcing the company needed a strategic shift.

Lisa Asher rejected suggestions Australia does not have the right talent base to build artificial intelligence models.

We certainly have those AI development skills here.

NSW Finance Minister Courtney Houssos said the decision by Officeworks was unfortunate.

It's always disappointing when companies make decisions to move jobs offshore.

It's up to Officeworks to explain that decision.

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