AO boss blames Labour as retailer shifts jobs to South Africa

AO moves jobs out of UK despite boom in profits

Online electrical retailer AO World is offshoring up to 200 UK call centre roles to South Africa despite an increase in profits. The retailer said the move was “in response to ongoing inflationary cost pressures, and particularly rising employment costs”. It said it expected to save about £4m a year as a result of the shift. About 150 roles in phone sales and enquiries have already been switched from AO’s call centre in Bolton to South Africa ov…

AO boss blames Labour as retailer shifts jobs to South Africa

AO World boss John Roberts has blamed the government’s employment tax and wage rises for the retailer’s decision to move jobs to South Africa. The electricals retailer has already offshored around 150 sales roles, saving £2 million, with annualised savings expected to reach £4 million, The Times reported. A further 50 workers are expected to be recruited in South Africa by next March, as AO aims to move most of its customer contact operations ov…