TTEC Cuts Costa Rica Job Pledge to 45 From 111 as Asian Rivals Undercut Costs
Updated
Updated · The Tico Times · Nov 4
TTEC Cuts Costa Rica Job Pledge to 45 From 111 as Asian Rivals Undercut Costs
1 articles · Updated · The Tico Times · Nov 4
Summary
Comex approved TTEC Customer Management Costa Rica’s request to cut its minimum free-zone employment commitment by more than half, to 45 workers from 111.
TTEC said call centers in India and the Philippines have much lower wage and operating costs, leaving Costa Rica at a structural disadvantage in retaining contracts and winning new clients.
38 free-zone companies have lowered employment targets since 2023, reducing combined commitments to about 19,864 jobs from roughly 38,450; Amazon made the biggest cut, to 8,225 from 16,450.
195,410 direct free-zone jobs were recorded through August, down 0.9% from 197,101, with the Central Bank tying the decline mainly to administrative support, professional services, and information and communications.
Not every lower target means matching layoffs, but the pattern signals growing pressure on Costa Rica’s service-sector free-zone jobs, a key source of formal private employment.
As AI and cheap Asian labor drain Costa Rica's call centers, can the nation pivot to high-tech manufacturing before an employment crisis hits?
If slashed job targets avoid immediate layoffs, what hidden corporate strategies are multinational giants deploying to quietly phase out human workers for AI?