London, June 05: Despite increasing discontent in US and Britain over outsourcing to India, British insurance company Prudential plans to shift a third of its remaining 3,000 customer-service jobs to Mumbai and save an estimated £16 million a year, a report said on Wednesday. Prudential selected Mumbai over rival locations in east Europe, Asia and Ireland because of lower hiring costs but, as also because "the infrastructure and potential for savings and productivity gains made India a winner”, said Philip Broadley, the company's finance director.

The move comes as British Communication Workers' Union issued a warning this week of strikes against BT, the telecommunications giant, over its Indian plans.
Similar moves by other companies in the US and the UK to low-cost offshore centres are now gaining international political attention, The Financial Times, London, reported on Wednesday.
US unions and politicians are also launching campaigns to protect jobs. Bureau Report