With its now-closed acquisition of Virginia-based WillowTree, Canadian firm Telus International (NYSE: TIXT) has bullish hiring plans – including in Durham where WillowTree has about 150 employees.
The $1.2 billion deal was announced in October of last year. At the time, WillowTree CEO Tobias Dengel said to expect growth – but Telus International CEO Jeff Puritt is even more bullish.
In an interview after the deal officially closed Thursday, Puritt said that the employment growth across the WillowTree organization could be in the thousands in the next few years. Right now, Willowtree has about 1,100 people across its entire operation.
“My ambition is to see if we can’t grow it to 10,000 people as fast as we can,” he said, pointing to what’s happened with past acquisitions made by the company as proof that it’s possible.
Telus International, part of multinational holding company Telus Corporation (NYSE: TU), designs, builds and delivers next-generation solutions in areas such as artificial intelligence and content moderation. App builder WillowTree adds front-end design and build competencies to its product suite.
A business that Telus International bought in Latin America, for example, had 1,350 employees at the time of the acquisition. “Today it’s 15,000,” he said, adding that a firm the company bought out in the Philippines grew from 1,500 people to 26,000.
“Literally, without exception, every single acquisition we’ve made has culminated in significant incremental growth," Puritt said. "Our ambition with the WillowTree transaction is no different.”
Puritt said the possibility of a recession in 2023 will not derail the plan. Telus International is about 18 years old and has a history of thriving in downturns, he said. As companies look for ways to “do more with less,” Telus makes the cut, he said.
In a letter to the team, Dengel called the buyout the start of “our next chapter.”
“By joining forces with Telus International, we now have the expertise and global scale to delight customers at every point of the customer experience value chain,” he said in the letter. “There are no missing links. How many other companies can make that claim? I could not be more bullish on our combined future together.”
It’s the tenth acquisition for Telus International since 2005.
Telus International reported its third quarter results in November. It reported $615 million in quarterly revenue, up 11 percent year-over-year.
Charlottesville-based WillowTree announced its initial plans to bring 100 employees in Durham seven years ago – and delivered. The company reported about $140 million in revenue for 2021.
