Insurance firm AXA has no further plans to outsource any more jobs in 2010, according to group HR director Sonia Wolsey-Cooper.

Wolsey-Cooper’s comments follow an interview in the Financial Times in which Capita’s chief operating officer predicted the outsourcing firm would increase its Indian operations by 4,500 to 5,000 people in the next 18 months.

Last year AXA completed a deal to outsource administration of its ‘traditional’ business (which predominantly covers life and pensions products no longer actively marketed to new customers) to Capita.

Wolsey Cooper told Recruiterthis involved the transfer of around 1,150 employees (typically administrative and support roles including both ‘back office’ and ‘front office’ roles) in the UK from AXA to Capita, while around 550 AXA employees already based in India transferred to Capita’s India-based business.

Wolsey-Cooper says: “Our contract with Capita is a 15-year contract and all work and employees transferred from AXA to Capita in 2009. As such, there will not be further outsourcing activity during 2010.

“There is a clear strategic advantage for AXA in outsourcing the administration. As the number of policies in this area of our business declines, due to the life and pensions products no longer being actively marketed to new customers, it becomes less cost effective for AXA to invest in new technology to improve our service to these customers.  

“By contrast, Capita has an ongoing programme of investment in new technology to administer their much larger portfolio of this type of business so this provides the best solution for our customers and our business.”