BP looks to set up global business service centre in Pune, hire 2,000

Centre is expected to start by next Jan; will assume operational ownership of third-party business processes and look to further extend its work with analytics and data science capabilities

In contrast to its global plan to let go of 10,000 employees, BP is planning to set up a global business service centre in Pune and hire employees in the next few months. 

On Thursday, BP shared plans to set up a new centre for its global business services (GBS) operations in Pune. 

The centre is expected to begin operations by January. The company said this move will help BP dip into India’s diverse talent pool. The company said the centre will provide business processing and advanced analytics capabilities in support of BP businesses worldwide. Once fully operational, the centre is expected to employ 2,000 employees.  

The new centre, the company said, will assume operational ownership of third-party business processes and look to further extend its work with analytics and data science capabilities to pursue better business outcomes.

“Our new centre in India will enable us to put digital at the heart of BP’s businesses. Accessing India’s great talent pool and leveraging an agile mindset, we expect to advance the customer experience, adding further value to BP,” said Camille Drummond, senior vice president for GBS, BP. 

The new centre will begin to recruit digitally savvy and customer-focused candidates in the next few months, aiming to rapidly grow to a workforce of about 2,000 over time, the firm said. 

Earlier this month, BP indicated its plan to cut staff globally due to the pandemic’s impact on its business. The release indicated the move would impact 10,000 employees worldwide. BP did not share a geographical break-up of the planned retrenchment.

In India, BP employs around 7,500 people in the oil, gas, lubricants, and petrochemicals businesses and also has a joint venture with Reliance Industries for its gas value chain, retail, aviation fuels, and mobility solutions.