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HANOVER TWP. — Genpact, a major employer at Hanover Industrial Estates, confirmed today that the company will be sending some jobs from its Hanover Township facility to India.
The company, which employs more than 24,000 worldwide and has key management and corporate offices in New York City, had struck a $140 million deal with Kraft Foods that was announced in February. Kraft Foods, which had employed about 350 people at its facility in Hanover Industrial Estates, told employees on March 24 that they would be offered jobs with Genpact.
Days later, a Kraft employee who insisted on remaining anonymous provided the Times Leader with a copy of an internal company document — a bid form dated Feb. 25 that includes a “strategy description” of the deal between the two companies.
“Genpact was chosen by Kraft senior management to provide order to cash services. This bid waiver covers the 5-year term of the contract for the OTC services. Kraft employees will be transferring to Genpact. Contract language includes the agreed upon severance, benefits and all employment related provisions. Pricing for the first year is based on FTE count. Thereafter, Kraft has rights to convert to transaction based pricing. Kraft will exit Wilkes-Barre by July 1, 2014, and move into Genpact ’s Wilkes-Barre facility. Beginning July, 2015 FTE will being (sic) to transition to Genpact ’s India facility.”
“One day we’re told our jobs are not going away and a couple days later, we find out our jobs will be sent to India in a year,” the source had said in February. “We feel Kraft is using us as pawns so Genpact can learn from us.”
At the time, a Genpact official refused to comment on the document and instead touted growth here.
Gail Ferrari Marold, vice president/brand communications at Genpact in Raleigh, North Carolina, had said Genpact ’s aim was to retrain and redeploy skilled American workers across industries.
“And our growth reflects the success of that strategy,” she had said in an e-mail. “Our Wilkes-Barre center has added 10 new clients since 2005. Given confidentiality, we can’t comment on specific client engagements.”
But today, when asked for confirmation that Genpact would be moving Hanover Township jobs to India, Marold said that was the case.
Marold said in an emailed statement that Genpact is “proud to do business in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.” and expects continued growth here “from additional engagements with both new and existing clients.”
“In order to drive business impact for its clients and stay competitive in the business services industry, the company creates inefficiencies by delivering services from the most optimal locations across a network of more than 70 global delivery centers, including right here in Wilkes-Barre,” she said.
Marold said Genpact locations are evaluated and adjusted based on the needs of the business and the client as part of the normal course of operations.
“It’s not uncommon for some work to shift from one center to another. In its ongoing effort to best serve its clients, some work based in Wilkes-Barre will move to India. Genpact will make every effort to provide other opportunities to as many of the affected employees as possible.”
Not counting the new additions from Kraft, Genpact had employed about 250 people at its Hanover Township facility in February. Marold did not say how many jobs would be lost in the Hanover Township facility.
Genpact had announced in October 2010 that it would add at least 200 new full-time jobs to its work force of 255 and expand its 40,000-square-foot leased facility by another 13,000 square feet to accommodate the additional people and equipment.
A total of $802,250 in state funds was to pay for about half the cost of the expansion, with the company contributing the rest for the estimated $1.7 million project. The Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Business and Industry assisted Genpact in obtaining the public funding.
It is unclear whether any additional hiring or if the expansion took place.
Scott McConnell, senior vice president and operating leader of Americas at Genpact, had said most of the hires would come as demand picked up. “It’ll be very much driven by how we sign contracts with our customers,” he had said.
The company’s local work force has risen and fallen over the years. In 2007, company officials told The Times Leader there were 375 employees and they hoped to have 500 within a few years.
Times Leader staff writer Bill O’Boyle contributed to this report.