IF a proposed US law takes effect, it could unleash a ‘massacre of jobs’ in the country’s business process outsourcing (BPO) industry, the Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR) has warned, as it urged the Marcos administration to prepare for this.
In a statement late Wednesday, the group said the government must be ready to protect Filipino call center workers who could be hit hard by the Keep Call Centers in America Act of 2025.
‘If the projected massacre of jobs pushes through, the government should ensure that employers follow a fair and proper process in removing employees from work. Workers must be given sufficient notice and proper compensation. The US bill and [artificial intelligence] must not be invoked to justify unjust terminations,’ CTUHR said.
The bill, filed by US Senators Ruben Gallego and Jim Justice, seeks to discourage outsourcing by creating a public list of call center firms that move at least 30 percent of their operations abroad.
Those companies could lose access to federal grants and loans, face penalties if they continue outsourcing while holding federal contracts, and lose priority in government bidding.
One year after its passage, US customers will also have the right to know whether the agent they are speaking to is based abroad-and to ask to be transferred to someone within the US.
The BPO Industry Employees Network (BIEN) earlier warned that the measure could lead to massive job cuts in the Philippines, home to one of the world’s largest call center workforces.
CTUHR said the government cannot afford to take a wait-and-see stance.
Instead, it urged policymakers to start building alternatives for workers who could be affected.
‘For starters, it should engage labor, business, and experts in serious dialogue on how to revive industry and agriculture, which have shrunk badly in recent decades. It should pursue a program of national industrialization to create decent jobs at home,’ it said.
The group also cautioned the government against using the US bill as an excuse to turn a blind eye to labor rights violations in the BPO sector.
Data from the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) show the industry ended 2024 with 1.82 million direct employees and $38 billion in revenues.
IBPAP expects the sector to continue growing, with projections of 2.5 million workers and $59 billion in revenues by 2028.