I’m a former employee and was having drinks with my friend (a senior manager who still works there). He mentioned there’s a big project under wraps to migrate most of the US based contact center to the Philippines next year. Thousands of employees are scheduled to be cut. Figured I’d share and see if anyone else wants to confirm or deny it and share details.
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What I want to know is if we had to go through federal background checks to work for the bank, and I know that includes contact center agents, how in the he-l are the folks in the Philippines who are looking at account information clearing all the checks?? If I were an account holder I'd be concerned that someone not in my own country has my account info at their fingers.
@ah so true. Only the sociopaths stay though. It’s like selling your soul working there as a leader. Speaking from experience, as someone that ran from it.
@gk Chase. Their customer support is based in US.
@dx they can eliminate accents but they can't eliminate the communication problems that come with outsourced call centers.
This was one thing USB had going for it. When you called customer support, you got someone in the U.S. I'd say it would be the last straw for many customers, but where are they going to go?
@dp There are AI tools that can eliminate accents now.
@bd we already have not great customer service. People will absolutely abandon and go elsewhere if they can't get to someone who 'speaks english' on the phone. Aka someone without an accent. I'm sure this strategy will work out well for them though.
@b3 This is an avenue for entry-level jobs in major U.S. corporations these days people. And as you smugly admit, "you have no idea."
They’ve already started this process. Lots in Phi now
@b3 Customer service is the biggest differentiator among banks now. There’s no difference in products like checking and credit cards. People will leave when they can’t understand their CSR. Building relationships takes years but can be destroyed in short order. Look at how successful JPM is and their customer service is mostly US based. I suppose our fearless leaders will get their 8 figure bonuses and take the golden parachute while USB tanks and gets absorbed by one of the Big 4.
Someone’s got to post some of the details here about Pearl and Horizon (must be inspired by Verizon who just fired 13,000). Then I’ll pop it in the anonymous Q&A site during the all staff and we can watch GK and her hit squad squirm uncomfortably.
@b9 so is it called project Horizon hehe cause I will ask away cheers.
There are multiple efforts like that underway. They usually give the projects code names. The contact center projects have names like Pearl and Diamond. Wait until you hear about project Horizon. Have some fun and ask your leadership team during an all staff call using the code names.
@b7 70,000 is unlikely considering that’s the size of the full org.
@b6 I heard it was like 70,000! I think it's true! Absolutely nobody will survive this. The end is coming. My next door neighbor's cousin's ex boyfriend's non-binary biracial sister's mother-in-law's weave specialist who just fired from her backup part time job at Walmart told me!
It's true. I heard my my Aunt's sister, daughter, hair groomer, step son, pastor, next door neighbor that 30,000 are about to be axed because of Indian workers, er I mean AI. Better get your UBI checks in order.
Not MOST. SOME, yes. And it's not THOUSANDS.
This is how banking works these days people. All of our competitors have moved or are moving tier 1 call centers overseas. In the states, these are very low paying jobs with high turnover rates, so I have no idea what the concern is.
Yes, the project is well underway and is planned for implementation in the July August time frame next year, the workforce reduction plan will take the second half of the 2026 year as the pertinent roles are mapped over, but eventually the contact centers as currently configured will be gone this time next year.
I was on a call a few weeks ago where AI taking over many collections roles was the presentation topic. OP has legitimate insight of what’s going on.
Yes it’s true. I work in that department. We were told to not tell anyone about it because senior management doesn’t want people to leave too early. I swear you’ve got to be a sociopath to be an executive.