Up to 150 staff from QBE’s Sydney operations have been notified that they won’t have jobs “within six months” a source has told insuranceNEWS.com.au, while the company will this week advise its Melbourne staff of job cuts.

At its full-year results presentation last week, Group CEO John Neal confirmed media speculation that offshoring will be a key part of QBE’s “operational transformation program”, despite denials last year by the company.

He says while there are “absolutely no plans” on final numbers, the media reports about the offshoring of around 700 jobs from its Australian, North American and European operations to a group shared service centre in the Philippines is “in the ballpark”.

The areas believed to be involved include claims lodgement and management, reinsurance administration, finance, procurement and IT, with a source telling insuranceNEWS.com.au it is primarily the company’s national service centres in Sydney and Melbourne that will be affected.

QBE already employs around 700 people in Manila and Bangalore, India. 

On speculation that the final number of QBE jobs to be offshored from Australia, North America and Europe by 2015 is 3000 – with 700 jobs from Australia alone – Mr Neal told the results briefing the company is “nowhere near being able to firm upon” exact numbers.

He says discussions over the detail of the plans have not yet taken place with the board.

But Finance Sector Union National Secretary Leon Carter has dismissed the suggestion that the plans aren’t fully evolved. 

“To say that there’s been no workforce planning is an absolute con,” he told insuranceNEWS.com.au. “We encourage QBE to come clean and talk to its workers about what the future holds for them.”

It’s understood that QBE Australia and New Zealand CEO Colin Fagen will speak to staff around Australia in the next week, and may also brief key brokers.

Brokers contacted by insuranceNEWS.com.au say they have so far received no information from the insurer.

They say their clients are confused and concerned about the insurer’s offshoring plans.

One broker, who did not wish to be named, told insuranceNEWS.com.au he had been contacted by a concerned client who has a scheme with QBE which has a large number of volume claims.

The client doesn’t want to deal with an offshore call centre, but due to a lack of information from QBE the broker is not in a position to offer his client any reassurances.

“We haven’t been kept informed,” the broker said. “We haven’t been told much by the people we normally deal with. I’m guessing that they haven’t been told anything themselves.”

He says conversations with QBE staff make it “obvious morale is being affected”.

Peter Peirano, owner of Rockhampton-based Piranha Insurance Brokers, says he has not had any communication from QBE regarding its offshoring plans.

“All we know is what we get off insuranceNEWS.com.au,” he said.

But the plan to offshore more jobs doesn’t surprise Mr Peirano, who described QBE as “120% shareholder-driven”.

Despite plans to save $US250 million ($245 million) a year by the end of 2015 through its operational transformation program, Mr Neal says offshoring is about “absolute excellence in the service for customers and brokers” rather than cost.