Rogers to move 300 international Shaw call centre jobs to Western Canada

TORONTO -

Rogers Communications Inc. announced Monday it will relocate around 300 Shaw call centre jobs based overseas to Canada after completing its $26-billion acquisition of the carrier earlier this month.

The positions will be located in B.C., Alberta and Manitoba, where Rogers has pledged to boost the number of "customer-facing" jobs.

As part of a set of conditions Ottawa attached to its approval of the merger with Shaw Communications Inc., Rogers must create 3,000 new jobs in Western Canada.

All Rogers customer service positions have been based in Canada since 2020, when it announced it transitioned 150 remaining foreign call centre jobs to Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick.

Rogers said that makes it the only national carrier committed to having its entire call centre team located within the country, which also extends to its Fido and Chatr brands.

Rivals Bell and Telus both partly rely on call centres located in foreign countries.

Rogers has said it also plans to hire 1,000 additional customer service representatives across Canada.

"As a proud Canadian company, we're committed to investing in Canada," said Rogers CEO Tony Staffieri.

"Bringing these jobs to Canada means all of our customers will be served by a team with deep knowledge of our products and services and roots in the communities where they live and work."

The company said it plans to transition all overseas Shaw jobs by the end of September, with the first of those call centre positions in place by Canada Day.

Earlier this month, Staffieri also said Rogers would prioritize the creation of digital and technology positions focused on "building networks" in Western Canada.

The deal set out that Rogers must create those positions within five years and maintain them for at least a decade.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 17, 2023.