Coles moves corporate roles to Accenture in cost-cutting push
Coles will transfer some corporate roles to Accenture teams locally and overseas to cut costs amid intensifying retail competition.
Coles, Australia's second-largest grocery chain, is shifting a portion of its corporate workforce to IT consultancy Accenture as part of a broader cost-reduction strategy. The move comes as competition in the retail sector intensifies, with e-commerce players challenging the market dominance of Coles and larger rival Woolworths.
The company said affected team members would be redeployed into other roles within the business, and stressed that the changes would touch only a small fraction of its 115,000-strong Australian workforce. A spokesperson noted that the vast majority of employees working in stores and communities across the country would be unaffected.
Earlier reports suggested the arrangement with Accenture could involve moving as many as 1,000 jobs to India, with a focus on strengthening Coles' online operations. The company has not confirmed those figures.
Shares of Coles were down 0.9% in early trading, slightly underperforming a marginally lower broader Australian equity benchmark.