Publishing house staff strike over offshoring plans

Financial staff at one of the UK's largest publishing houses have gone on strike over proposals to outsource jobs to India.

Oxford University Press (OUP) plans to offshore its financial operations department to EXL Services, which will provide the service from the subcontinent.

More than 30 Unite the Union members walked out on Tuesday over the plans, with the industrial action set to last until 11 September.

In response OUP said it was consulting with staff to reach a resolution and that fewer than half of those impacted by the changes had voted in favour of the industrial action.

The publishing house's proposals would see nearly 50 roles relocated to India, and follow plans announced in November 2025 to make 113 redundancies in the UK.

OUP is the publishing house of the University of Oxford and made a £47.1m profit over the last financial year.

On the plans to outsource the roles to EXL Services, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: "Oxford University Press' offshoring plan is a classic case of an employer prioritising greed over its hard working staff."

"It is an absolute disgrace that it has pushed through this decision and put our members' jobs at risk," she said.

Unite regional officer Naomi Gravett said the industrial action was "completely the fault of OUP".

"It is a wealthy employer and simply does not need to cut costs by outsourcing our members' jobs abroad," she added.

OUP said a majority of staff affected by the changes had "accepted the terms offered".

"Colleagues have been offered enhanced redundancy terms as well as opportunities for redeployment and support, including funding for professional development, and a number have secured alternative roles within the Press," the publishing house said.

It said staff had been offered wellbeing support, before adding: "We also have plans in place to minimize any potential disruption to colleagues, customers, or suppliers during this time."