The retailer is offshoring corporate jobs in finance, human resources and IT, with the changes impacting part of the almost 10,000-strong head office workforce. A Woolworths spokesperson confirms the outsourcing plan but holds back on exact numbers because formal consultation with affected employees starts on Wednesday morning.
The company frames the shift as part of a broader push to simplify how it operates and reduce overheads in non-customer-facing teams. Executives point to customers increasingly demanding dependable low prices as inflation keeps lifting everyday bills and eroding household spending power.
Woolworths argues that streamlining corporate functions, boosting productivity and lifting efficiency allows more resources to flow into pricing and store experience. The group also highlights intensifying competition from rapidly expanding international supermarket players, which often run leaner cost bases and aggressive value propositions.
These pressures are driving Woolworths to rework its operating model and lean more heavily on lower-cost offshore support.
