Avaya boost Indian call centre investment

Avaya has bought a majority stake in a New Delhi-based call centre equipment supplier, in a deal company spokesman Scott Horn said will not trigger overseas shipment of US jobs.

The company, which makes internet telephone equipment for the corporate market, said it is paying $18m for an additional 25 per cent of Tata Telecom. Tata Telecom had been controlled by the Tata Group, one of India's largest conglomerates. The Tata Group and Avaya created Tata Telecom in a joint venture almost eight years ago. The deal gives New Jersey-based Avaya slightly more than 50 per cent stake in Tata Telecom.

Avaya's additional $18m investment is "to do business in India" supplying Internet Protocol-based telephone systems to businesses, Horn said. Avaya doesn't have overseas sales offices, so it makes deals with telephone companies in India, Europe and Asia, Horn adds.

A US company's expansion overseas is likely to trigger fears of offshore outsourcing in which US jobs are transferred to lower-paid workers, usually in developing nations. Much of the recent news about technology firms' operations in India has involved laid-off US workers being replaced by cheaper Indian staffs.

However, Horn was quick to say the Tata Telecom deal would not result in Avaya jobs moving overseas.

Ben Charmy writes for CNET News.com