British supermarket chain outsources to TCS

The move is expected to result in the loss of 115 of 130 current IT jobs with the company.

British supermarket major Somerfield has announced the outsourcing of its IT services to India's Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), a move estimated to save the company 2 million pounds ($3.9) a year.

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The move is expected to result in the loss of 115 of 130 current IT jobs with the company. TCS and Somerfield have signed a seven-year agreement. Somerfield, with 1,300 stores, is Britain's fifth-largest grocery chain.

Several of the employees who would be rendered redundant are likely to be offered jobs by TCS in their offices in Britain.

Somerfield was acquired for 1.1 billion pounds in December 2005 by a consortium made up of property tycoon Robert Tchenguiz, private equity firm Apax and investment bank Barclays Capital.

The new owners have since then undertaken a major review of the business.