Around 100 IT jobs to be outsourced by Standard Life Aberdeen despite pandemic

Around 100 jobs in Edinburgh’s Standard Life Aberdeen office are to be outsourced to the Indian consultancy giant Tata Consultancy Services as part of cost-saving measures.

Around 100 jobs could be outsourced by Standard Life Aberdeen in Edinburgh

The company, which has its headquarters in Edinburgh, has decided to move the jobs across despite its share price having recovered to around levels seen in 2018 pre-pandemic.

Around 100 staff in total are affected, with many being made redundant while some jobs will be transferred to Tata Consultancy Services, leaving them concerned about potential changes to their terms and conditions and losses of benefits associated with an Standard Life Aberdeen contract.

One affected employee said the decision had come at the worst possible time due to the renewed lockdown due to Covid-19 and the lack of potential job opportunities for those affected.

The employee, who wished to remain anonymous, said he was particularly disappointed due to the business’ positive performance in recent months.

He said: “This negotiation must have started before the vaccine announcement and before the new lockdown.

"There is a bit of a moral duty when your company is not performing shambolically to try and help your staff out during a pandemic.”

A spokesperson for Standard Life Aberdeen explained the move was part of their “previously stated efficiency commitments” with around 100 staff in scope of the changes.

The spokesperson said: “We need to ensure that our operating model within Information Technology Services (ITS) is designed around the future needs and performance objectives of the business, whilst effectively managing operating costs.

"We have confirmed the commencement of a strategic partnership with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).

"TCS are a global leader in providing innovative, best-in-class IT solutions and services.

"As part of this partnership, we will be looking to transition a number of current ITS services from SLA to TCS. Some of these are already delivered using third parties, and these will also move from the incumbent provider to TCS.

"This is part of our transformation programme and represents further delivery on our previously stated efficiency commitments.”

It is understood some roles will be made redundant, while others will be retained by the company with a number being transferred to Tata Consultancy Services.

However, Standard Life Aberdeen did not put a number on how many jobs would be in each category.

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