Woolworths Group
ASX:WOWAustralia's largest supermarket chain. Also operates Big W, Dan Murphy's.
Reported Offshore Headcount
500+
reported 1 Jan 2024, Woolworths extends 20-year strategic IT partnership with TCS
Estimated % of Workforce
~0.2%
illustrative, not directly reported by the company
Destination Countries
Financial Context
Market Cap
$44.3B
Revenue
$64.3B
Net Profit
$1.7B
Estimated Wage Differential
~$43M/yr
CEO: Amanda Bardwell
$8,700,000
112x avg Australian worker
Illustrative wage differential: if the 500+ reported offshore roles were instead employed in Australia at average local rates, the additional cost could be in the order of ~$43M/yr (~2.5% of reported net profit). This is an estimate based on industry averages, not company-specific data.
Would this company be profitable without offshoring?
Every dollar paid offshore leaves the Australian economy, reducing local wages, tax receipts, and economic circulation. Why it matters
Financial data: FY2024. Estimate uses avg AU employment cost of $110,000+/yr (incl. super and on-costs) vs offshore $25,000/yr (salary + on-costs). Actual figures vary by role, seniority, and location.
In Plain English
- In 2024, Woolworths Group was reported to have 500+ offshore contractors and staff.
- This represents ~0.2% when compared to its current workforce of 203,000 (illustrative comparison only, not directly reported by the company).
- Known outsourcing partners include Accenture, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, EY.
Based on data from public sources at the dates reported. Figures may not reflect current headcount. See sources below for full attribution.
The Story
- June 2026Woolworths announced it is offshoring hundreds of corporate jobs, beginning consultations with potentially affected staff on 10 June 2026. The ABC understands the cuts span the People (HR), IT and Finance teams, with IT taking the largest share, not just IT. The roles transition into Woolworths' existing global capability hubs, including a global centre in Bengaluru, India, and operations in the Philippines; the company already runs support offices across Hong Kong, China, Bangladesh, India and the Philippines and points to 'teams located throughout Asia and longstanding managed service arrangements'. Woolworths would not confirm how many of its ~10,000 corporate staff (group total ~202,000) would be affected. A spokesperson framed it as removing complexity and driving efficiency to stay competitive; CEO Amanda Bardwell's program targets $400M in above-store support office savings. This is cost/efficiency offshoring, not an AI-driven cut. Woolworths' February results separately noted an AI rollout (two of three support-office staff using Gemini weekly), but that is not given as the cause of these redundancies. Woolworths follows Telstra (up to 650 roles in favour of jobs in India), NAB and Officeworks (Wesfarmers); its shares rose 1.75% on the news. No headcount has been publicly disclosed, so no individual layoff figure is recorded here. [ABC News — Gareth Hutchens]
All facts sourced from public reporting. No editorial commentary. Click source links to verify.
Offshoring Timeline
| Date | Department | Country | Headcount | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Jan 2024 | IT | 🇮🇳 India | — | Confirmed |
| 10 Jun 2026 | IT | 🇮🇳 India | — | Confirmed |
| 10 Jun 2026 | Back Office | 🇮🇳 India | — | Confirmed |
| 10 Jun 2026 | Back Office | 🇵🇭 Philippines | — | Confirmed |
Consultancy Engagements
| Vendor | Type | Contract Value | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accenture | Managed Services | — | Confirmed |
| Tata Consultancy Services | Outsourced Dev | — | Confirmed |
| Wipro | Managed Services | — | Confirmed |
| EY | Consulting | — | Confirmed |
Other Food & Beverage Companies That Offshore
Other companies in food & beverage with reported offshore operations.
| Company | ASX | Reported Offshore | Offshore Destinations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coles Group | COL | 378+ | 🇵🇭 Philippines |
What Public Sources Say
All information below is sourced from publicly available documents and reporting. Excerpts are direct quotes. Click source links to verify.
“Woolworths (ASX: WOW) is offshoring hundreds of corporate jobs, beginning staff consultations on 10 June 2026. The ABC understands the affected teams include People (HR), IT and Finance; the retailer would not confirm how many of its ~10,000 corporate employees would be affected (group total ~202,000). A spokesperson framed the move as removing complexity and driving efficiency to stay competitive and keep lowering prices, citing "teams located throughout Asia and longstanding managed service arrangements". CEO Amanda Bardwell's program targets $400M in above-store support office cost savings. Woolworths is the latest after Telstra (up to 650 roles in favour of jobs in India), NAB, and Officeworks (Wesfarmers). Shares rose 1.75% on the news. The cuts are framed as cost/efficiency offshoring, not AI displacement.”
Additional Sources
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This list is not complete, and never will be
If a company isn't listed here, that doesn't mean it doesn't offshore. And every number is the lowest we can prove, so the real figures can often be higher.
Read whyShow less
This list is not complete, and never will be
If a company isn't listed here, that doesn't mean it doesn't offshore. And every number is the lowest we can prove, so the real figures can often be higher.
This started as an ASX 200 project and mostly still is. It has widened as stories landed from outside that list, so it now also covers employers that aren't ASX-listed, like Canva, Allianz Australia, SS&C and Crown Resorts, along with government departments and agencies. Companies get added when something surfaces about them, not by working through a list in order.
Australian companies are under no obligation to disclose where their work is done, and there is no register of offshored jobs. Everything here comes from something that surfaced publicly: an annual report, a modern slavery statement, a news article, a union statement, a government contract, or a tip from someone who was there.
So an absence usually means nobody has reported on that company and we haven't got to it yet, not that it keeps its work onshore. Some of the biggest offshorers say nothing at all. And because each figure counts only what a source actually stated, the real numbers can often run higher, sometimes much higher.
Every figure links to the source it came from, so you can judge it yourself rather than take our word for it. If you know something that is missing or wrong, tell us. Corrections are published, not quietly buried.
This profile reflects public information at the time of publication and may not match current operations. Is something wrong or missing about Woolworths Group? Submit a correction. We welcome input from companies, employees, and researchers.