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News >> Technology >>
vCustomer plans acquisition in US
By siliconindia
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Friday, 19 March 2004, 20:30 IST
WASHINGTON: In what could be the biggest such deal so far by an Indian call centre operator, vCustomer is planning a $50-million acquisition in America, a move which is expected to prove that outsourcing also brings significant business to the US.
vCustomer was incorporated in 1999 in Seattle, Washington State (US). It started its first call centre with 25 seats as e-mail support back office. Today it has over 2,000 seats in Delhi and 1,000 in Pune, servicing several prominent technology and major US retailers.
Its chief executive Sanjay Kumar told The Wall Street Journal that vCustomer wants to be closer to its customers. "We can handle some of the processes better if we have an operational base in the US," he said.
The move, the Journal notes, comes amid a backlash in the US against shipping jobs to India, though Kumar said that had not influenced the company's decision.
However, the paper noted, industry groups in India have been discussing ways to minimise job losses in the US as more service industries such as call centres subcontract work to Indian companies.