Apple expands with Bangalore call centre

Apple said on Thursday that it plans to open a call centre in India to handle its growing business and continue to expand call centres in the US as well.

The company is in the process of building a Bangalore facility to house the call centre.

An Apple representative said in a statement: "Apple has gained millions of new customers in the past year, and we are building a call centre in India to help meet our growing service and support needs."

The company stressed it isn't cutting any US jobs, noting that its ranks are growing both in the United States and overall. The Apple representative said: "Our call centres in Austin and Sacramento also continue to grow."

The iPod and Mac maker also promised that the quality of its support will not diminish with the new effort.

Apple said: "This call centre will be managed and staffed by Apple employees with the same award-winning service for which Apple is known around the world."

The news was reported earlier on Thursday by the Times of India, which said Apple would begin with 1,500 people and have 3,000 workers by the end of next year. Apple would not comment on how many workers would be at the new facility.

Apple is following the lead of many other PC and electronics firms that have set up call centres in India.

In March 2005, Dell cut the ribbon on its third Indian call centre. However the company has also been hit with criticism over the quality of its customer support.

In 2003, Dell decided to reroute some corporate support calls back to US-based call centres but the company has continued to expand in India.

Apple's business has been growing significantly. In the fiscal year that ended in September, Apple posted revenue of $13.93bn, up 68 per cent from the prior year.

Ina Fried writes for CNET News.com