Aer Lingus seeks outsourcing alternative

Talks aimed at averting a threatened dispute at Irish low-cost airline Aer Lingus in the run-up to Christmas adjourned last night at the Labour Relations Commission and were due to recommence today, reports the Irish Times.

Aer Lingus has been considering proposals put forward by the trade union Siptu as alternatives to management plans to save EUR50 million in payroll costs by outsourcing baggage handling and other services.

Siptu has declined to comment on the measures it has put forward other than saying they represented alternatives to outsourcing. However, it is understood one part of the proposals would involve the company effectively buying out existing terms and conditions of some staff, who would continue working for the company under inferior terms.

IBM has revealed Mitsubishi Motors has extended its strategic outsourcing contract with IBM Japan for an additional five years, says Market Watch.

The entire operation and maintenance of the company's information system will be entrusted to IBM Japan. The agreement will be in effect until September 2013. In addition to the management of existing IT infrastructure, application operation and maintenance, and end-user support services, the new contract will include assistance of application planning.

IBM's global delivery model will consolidate system operations for necessary functions such as accident management or help desk. IBM global delivery centres in India will provide operation and maintenance services for business applications.

Infosys Technologies, India's second-largest computer-services provider, will gain from an increase in outsourcing at large companies trying to reduce costs, CEO Kris Gopalakrishnan said, according to Bloomberg.

Offshore services, or work done at overseas locations such as the Bangalore-based company's offices in India, will go up because they are "faster, cheaper and better" Gopalakrishnan said in a Bloomberg television interview.

Infosys and larger rival Tata Consultancy Services face concerns about whether they can sustain earnings growth as the global economic recession forces customers to cut technology spending. Gopalakrishnan is betting the slowdown will prompt some clients to cut costs by sending more work to India.