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Coca-Cola Enterprises To Outsource 150 Brandon Jobs

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By MICHAEL SASSO

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 10, 2008

Updated: 07/10/2008 03:54 pm

TAMPA - Coca-Cola Enterprises, which produces and distributes Coca-Cola Co. products, said today it plans to outsource 150 jobs from its Brandon financial services center to India, Guatemala or Poland.

Atlanta-based CCE operates six "shared services centers" around the world, including the one in Brandon, where about 1,100 are employed. The centers handle back-office financial services for the company, such as collections, accounts receivable, accounts payable and payroll.

Today, CCE announced it intends to enter into an agreement to move about 150 positions overseas as part of a contract with global outsourcing provider Capgemini, said Norman Ross Jr., CCE's vice president of public affairs and communications.

The company hasn't determined which jobs at the Brandon center will be outsourced, Ross said. The positions will be shifted overseas before June.

The company operates five other shared services centers around the world, including two others in North America -- Toronto and Dallas. The Dallas location will be closed and the Toronto site scaled back as more jobs also are shifted overseas, eliminating about 300 positions.

In Brandon, the 150 lost positions may result in 100 people losing their jobs, Ross said. That's because some of the lost jobs will be offset by jobs that are created in Brandon as well as jobs lost through attrition, he said. The company will provide severance packages and job placement assistance to those affected, he said. The average salary at the Brandon center is about $38,000, Ross said.

Capgemini has operations in India, Guatemala and Poland, and it isn't clear yet which country will receive the jobs from Brandon, Ross said. Each of those countries has lower wages and benefits than the United States. Ross wouldn't say whether payroll savings was a factor in CCE's decision to outsource. He said the decision was part of a plan to optimize its business.

CCE met with some employees this morning. Ross, who drove in from his Fort Lauderdale office to meet with employees and media, stressed that the company has a commitment to its Brandon shared services center.

As its North American centers are changed, the Brandon office will become a global hub for CCE's financial services functions, he said. Even after some jobs are shifted overseas, the Brandon center will have about 1,000 jobs, Ross said.

CCE is a major bottler and distributor of Coca-Cola products. It is separate from Coca-Cola Co., which owns the Coca-Cola trademark and develops and markets products.

Reporter Michael Sasso can be reached at (813) 259-7865 or msasso@tampatrib.com.

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