Exodus of City jobs to India to top 15,000 by 2010

Published on Monday 28 March 2005 11:58

UP TO 15,000 well-paid City jobs could disappear to India by 2010 as companies show a rising willingness to outsource complex tasks to low-cost economies.

New research has shown between 10,000 and 15,000 financial services jobs could join the flood of low-skill call centre and back office administration posts already moved abroad.

The past few years have seen Indian firms getting prepared to offer more profitable, highly skilled, analytical work, including actuarial services and financial modelling. Their aim is to tap into the 80billion market for research and analysis.

According to Troika, the financial services consultancy behind the research, a total of 100,000 jobs will be lost to low-cost countries by the end of the decade.

Andrew Stewart, managing director of Troika, said: "There is a growing shift to look at off-shoring more complex and high-paid roles - finance, research, human resources, marketing, actuarial and underwriting."

Firms in India are already providing research services to London-based stockbrokers and management consultancies, feeding into work completed by equity research and economic research teams, and giving background industry analysis for consultants. But the outsourcers deny they are taking away jobs at the top end of the market. They argue that outsourcing releases UK-based workers to generate more cash by spending extra time with clients.

The Corporation of London has also refuted allegations that moves to take jobs offshore poses a threat to the City.

International Financial Services, London said this month that the market for financial services work carried out offshore would be worth some 77bn in 2005. The financial services industry body said that this would represent a 38bn saving on the cost of those services in the UK.

In India, the equivalent salary for a $100,000 (53,700) Wall Street analyst would be about 16,100.