Reliance Communication (RCom), the country’s fourth-largest telecom operator by subscribers, is expecting to make ₹200-crore gain per year following a move to outsource its call centre and shared service operations.

The company, controlled by billionaire Anil Ambani, will move up to 5,500 employees from its captive outsourcing and shared service operations to the companies it would offer outsourcing contracts.

The Mumbai-based company is in talks with four third-party outsourcers to move its business, which would also result in about 5,500 employees moving away from the company.

Of the total four companies RCom is in talks with, it would shortlist one or two companies under a ₹700-800 crore deal, the official said.

When contacted an RCom spokesperson declined to comment.

RCom, which had a net debt of about ₹40,000 crore as of March 31, was in the process of reducing it by offloading stake or minimising operational expenses.

The company is expected to award the contract in the 3-5 weeks, another official said, again declining to be identified. RCom, which in June raised about ₹4,808 crore by selling shares to institutional investors, has a total of 15,200 employees on its rolls.

Similar deals In January last year, RCom awarded a $1-billion network outsourcing contract to telecom equipment manufacturer Alcatel-Lucent and shifted out 4,000 people, roughly 15 per of its total manpower, to Alcatel-Lucent as part of the deal.

Later in February 2013, RCom awarded a similar $1-billion contract to Swedish telecom equipment-maker Ericsson, spread over an eight-year period, to manage its networks across the northern and western regions. The telecom operator shifted out 5,000 personnel to Ericsson under the contract.

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