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Coca-Cola Enterprises Considers Outsourcing Brandon Work

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By MICHAEL SASSO

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 14, 2008

One of Brandon's biggest employers, Coca-Cola Enterprises, is considering changes that could include cutting some of its workforce and outsourcing the work elsewhere.

Coca-Cola Enterprises is the largest bottler and distributor of Coca-Cola products. It is separate from the Coca-Cola Co. Today, Norman Ross, vice president of public affairs and communications for Coca-Cola Enterprises, said the company has brought in two business process outsourcing, or BPO, providers to review the efficiency of its massive back-office operation in Brandon.

Ross said the two BPO companies began meeting with company employees on May 10 and will make recommendations on ways that Coca-Cola Enterprises can improve its efficiency. Ross said possibilities include outsourcing work elsewhere, consolidating some of the company's finance operations or restructuring operations in Brandon and five other finance-related company locations: Toronto; Dallas; Paris; Brussels, Belgium; and the United Kingdom.

He insisted that no decisions have been made about whether to outsource jobs.

"We're currently evaluating things," Ross said.

Overall, Coca-Cola Enterprises employs about 2,400 people in the Bay area. Its Brandon back-office center, known as a "shared services" center, has grown to 1,100 employees who perform many of Coca-Cola Enterprises' back-office finance functions. The growth of the Brandon center has become a source of pride for local economic development officials.

BPO companies are known for shifting work from high-cost countries such as the United States to low-wage countries, such as India or the Philippines. Ross said he didn't immediately know the names of the two BPO providers, and he declined to say where the jobs would go if they were to be outsourced.

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

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