UPDATED with Orcon comment. PLUS: The mixed fortunes of Kiwi tech companies with offshore helpdesks.

Freelancer.com, a US-based outsourcing service that claims 1.8 million members worldwide, is due to launch a New Zealand site on Monday.

The Kiwi iteration of the service, Freelancer.co.nz, will be the company’s first country-specific site.

Telstra has reignited the offshoring debate with its announcement that it is closing a Philippines-based help service, about six months after it began.

"The change is being made because our customers asked for it," Telstra spokesman Rod Bruem told The Australian.

IBM has announced a plan to lay off 5000 staff but its local operation has actually increased staff, and has no redundancy plans.

“In first quarter of 2009, we [IBM Australia and New Zealand] increased our total employee population, including a significant number of graduate and professional hires,” a spokeswoman for IBM New Zealand says.

“We have no planned redundancy programmes.”