Large BPO firm Ibex closes two contact centres, slashes desks by a third

Global outsourcing company Ibex has scaled back its operations in Jamaica, closing two centres, and eliminating one-third of its contact desks, in the process.

“We closed two sites during the year to optimise utilisation in our onshore and nearshore geographies,” according to Ibex in its financials in reference to onshore United States and nearshore Jamaica.

Ibex country operation in Jamaica is down to four centres, from six. The US operation is down from seven centres to three.

The group highlighted challenges related to inflation, and generative artificial technology, resulting in clients weighing their options. Ibex launched its own AI technology this year offering clients similar services.

“Despite macroeconomic conditions impacting our historical growth trends, as well as the unfavourable impact on our revenue from shifting mix from onshore to offshore geographies, the business performed well in several important areas,” Ibex said in its financial filings.

Over the year ending June 2024, the closure of the two contact centres in Jamaica eliminated 1,600 workstations, a 29 per cent reduction to about 3,850 seats, according to Ibex’s annual report. Also in Jamaica, the value of its equipment fell from US$13.4 million to US$8.7 million.

“We lease all of our facilities and do not own any real property,” the company stated in the financials. “We expect to procure additional space, in the future, as we continue to add employees and expand geographically to meet the demands of the business.”

This desk reduction was greater in the United States, down by more than half or 58 per cent in workstations. Jamaica’s loss, however, is particularly significant, as it’s traditionally been the largest employment zone for the group.

Despite this, other countries in the group like Pakistan recorded growth, highlighting Ibex’s ongoing focus on expanding in select regions. Today, Ibex operates “29 delivery centres around the world”. That’s down from 34 a year earlier.

Jamaica has long been a key player in the BPO outsourcing sector, catering to clients whose customers are based mainly in the English-speaking nations of the United States and Canada.

Ibex’s nearshore revenue fell eight per cent to US$143.6 million, a segment that includes Jamaica as well as Nicaragua and Honduras. The nearshore decline was twice that of the overall Ibex group, which fell three per cent to US$508.6 million.

Offshore operations grew 10 per cent in the year to US$244.8 million. That segment includes the Philippines and Pakistan. Onshore operations in the USA dipped 17 per cent to US$120.2 million.

A year ago, Ibex described itself as the “largest” outsourcing firm in Jamaica. It operated 5,477 workstations for its 6,200 staff. Up to June’s latest data, the company operated 3,848 workstations but the number of staff was not disclosed.

The reduction in workstations in Jamaica was more than double the overall reduction of 12 per cent across the group, which was down from 21,400 to 18,840 stations. Last year, Jamaica’s workforce totalled one-fifth of Ibex’s total 30,000 workforce.

“We are moving aggressively to leverage generative AI in our business. We introduced our Wave iX technology on January 30, 2024,” the outsourcing firm said.

“We have created a three-pronged AI strategy, which continues to keep Ibex at the forefront of digital transformation. Our solutions are focused on increasing agent productivity, providing deeper customer insights to elevate the customer experience and putting AI in front of the customer journey with voice and chat bots,” stated Ibex in its discussion and analysis.

The Jamaican operations is hunting staff new workers. It held a job fair this month, but its target and outcome were not ascertained as Ibex’s local senior representative did not respond immediately to requests for comment.

steven.jackson@gleanerjm.com