BASF and co eye India to cut costs, cope with slump

October 21, 2009 6:55 am

The world’s biggest chemical company, BASF; Euroclear, Europe’s largest settlement firm, and Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s biggest brewer, are among companies looking at outsourcing from India for the first time as they seek to cut their operational costs and cope more effectively with drop in demand for their products and services. The economic crisis is fuelling demand for offshore outsourcing from first-time customers. Experts tracking the sector say new customers in Europe and Asia are considering outsourcing decisions worth up to $1 billion.
In a year, when large traditional outsourcing customers such as Citibank and GE are shelving new technology investments, new outsourcers from Europe and Asia provide a sliver lining for India’s $40-billion software export industry. Germany-based BASF, which makes chemicals for paper and cosmetics, reported its first quarterly loss of $400 million in seven years in February this year, and said it will shut plants and eliminate around 1,500 jobs to counter the slump. The company’s IT Services is evaluating suppliers for offshoring of IT functions.

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