Supermarket giant Woolworths has announced plans to offshore hundreds of corporate jobs, affecting teams in People, IT, and Finance. The retailer will begin consultations with potentially affected staff today, though it would not confirm the exact number of employees impacted. The move is part of Woolworths' strategy to remain competitive amid the rapid expansion of international players in Australia's market and to deliver lower prices for customers.
"We have for many years had teams located throughout Asia and longstanding managed service arrangements in place," a Woolworths spokesperson said. "We regularly review these to ensure we are accessing the best global capabilities and lowering our costs, to ensure we are offering the best value for our customers."
The company emphasized that it expects to open 24 new stores, creating about 2,500 roles in the year ahead across Australia and New Zealand. Last year, Woolworths Group chief executive Amanda Barwell said she was repositioning the business for long-term sustainable growth and planned to achieve savings of $400 million in "above-store support office costs."
Woolworths joins a growing list of Australian companies shifting operations offshore, including National Australia Bank and Telstra, which recently announced plans to axe up to 650 roles in favor of jobs in India. Last month, Officeworks, owned by Wesfarmers, also announced plans to offshore hundreds of jobs to India and the Philippines.
Share Price Rises on News
By midday today, Woolworths shares gained 1.75% to $37.12 after the news broke. In February, Woolworths shares had their best day on record after first-half profit results impressed investors. The major retailer reported a 16% rise in underlying net profit to $859 million, beating analysts' expectations, despite a 49% drop in statutory net profit due to a $485 million charge for underpaid staff remediation.
According to Woolworths' 2025 annual report, the group operates 1,715 stores across Australia and New Zealand and employs about 202,000 people. The company is also rolling out artificial intelligence (AI) across its support office, with two out of three workers now using Gemini weekly.
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