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EXCLUSIVE
Prime minister Tony Blair has spoken exclusively to Personnel Today about HR jobs being offshored - as evidence of the trend became ever more compelling.
Blair was among several leading figures to acknowledge that jobs would be lost in this country as globalisation takes hold.
Asked whether HR staff should be afraid that jobs were going to India, Blair replied: "No, because we will also generate lots of business from there as the economy [in India] grows. We should see it as an opportunity, not a threat."
A survey by professional services firm Deloitte last week revealed that eight in 10 UK workers are worried about offshoring.
Chris Gentle, the firm's research director, said: "IT has led the way in offshoring, but it has now matured and we expect to see an increase in finance and HR services going abroad."
He added that offshoring was "an irreversible trend".
Susan Anderson, director of HR policy at employers' group the CBI, said: "The reality is that there are certain tasks that can be done at the same standard at a far lower cost abroad."
