US President Donald Trump—AFP
The job-generating business process outsourcing industry is starting to feel the heat coming from two fronts—the controversies spurred by President Rodrigo Duterte’s firebrand tongue and the US government’s inward-looking stance.
While the consensus seems to be that the BPO industry will keep expanding, some indications show that firms are becoming less aggressive in setting up shop here in the Philippines as opposed to previous years.
A source familiar with the industry told the Inquirer that a US client pulled out of a local BPO firm in March. Amid the rhetoric to bring back jobs to America, the withdrawal of this US client affected about 400 workers in the Philippines, the source said.
Trump’s “America First” policy has encouraged anti-outsourcing bills to be refiled in Congress, in spite of failed attempts under the Obama administration.
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While none had been passed into law, these proposals would temper the incentives for outsourcing, affecting countries like the Philippines that heavily depend on the BPO demand from the United States.
This mixes with developments in local politics, amid President Duterte’s drug war that triggers safety concerns among some clients and a pending change in government incentives, said the source.
