REA Group

Financial Context

Illustrative wage differential: if the 752+ reported offshore roles were instead employed in Australia at average local rates, the additional cost could be in the order of ~$64M/yr (~9.8% of reported net profit). This is an estimate based on industry averages, not company-specific data.

Would this company be profitable without offshoring?

Financial data: FY2024. Estimate uses avg AU cost of $110,000+/yr (salary only, excluding super, office, recruitment) vs offshore $25,000/yr (salary + on-costs). Actual figures vary by role, seniority, and location.

In Plain English

• In 2025, REA Group was reported to have 752+ offshore contractors and staff.
• This represents ~22% when compared to its current workforce of 3,418 (illustrative comparison only — not directly reported by the company).
• 🇨🇳 350+ staff reported in China in IT, Engineering.
• 🇵🇭 260+ staff reported in Philippines in Call Centre.
• 🇮🇳 142+ staff reported in India in Engineering.
• Known outsourcing partners include Thoughtworks.
• 75 Australian jobs have been cut, with all occurring during periods of offshore expansion.

Based on data from public sources at the dates reported. Figures may not reflect current headcount. See sources below for full attribution.

The Story

• 2015-2025REA's share price grew over 400% in 10 years, making it one of the best-performing stocks on the ASX. [Google Finance]
• 2022REA had "over 500 developers across 60 teams". [AFR]
• October 2024REA opened a Global Capability Centre (GCC) in Gurugram, India. CTO Steve Maidment said India headcount would grow to "10% of its global workforce in the next two years". [Economic Times]
• Mid-2025The Gurugram centre had grown to 70 REA employees and 30 from Thoughtworks, with plans to onboard 100 more in the coming year. [Forrester]
• July 2025REA cut approximately 15% of its 500+ Melbourne tech developers, with jobs shifted to India. The CPO and CTO addressed a town hall, after which 'morale sank further.' REA spokesman: 'Our development team in REA India is an extension of our team in Australia.' Share price had surged 400% over 10 years — the cuts were not driven by financial distress. [Australian Financial Review]
• July 2025REA chairman Hamish McLennan also chairs ARN Media, which announced similar cuts with jobs moved to India two months earlier. AFR columnist: 'A price war's first casualties are rarely management.' [Australian Financial Review]

All facts sourced from public reporting. No editorial commentary. Click source links to verify.