Royal Bank of Canada CEO apologizes for outsourcing controversy

The bank that controversially outsourced Canadians jobs to a company that hires temporary foreign workers issued a public apology on Thursday, after days of denying any wrongdoing in the matter.

Royal Bank of Canada president and CEO Gord Nixon previously said the bank had done nothing wrong when it replaced 45 workers with an outsourcing agency that hires immigrants through Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program.

The program is designed to fill job vacancies when qualified Canadians were unavailable to take the position, not replace Canadian workers. Nixon had previously said RBC did not hire temporary foreign workers, and that it was up to the agency they had contracted, iGate, to ensure they followed Canadian laws.

After nearly a week of furious public outrage, Nixon appears ready to concede there is a difference between technically legal and totally immoral.

[ Related: RBC foreign workers controversy won't affect bottom line: expert ]

“While we are compliant with the regulations, the debate has been about something else,” Nixon wrote in a statement released Thursday. “The question for many people is not about doing only what the rules require - it’s about doing what employees, clients, shareholders and Canadians expect of RBC. And that’s something we take very much to heart.”

Nixon went on to apologize for being insensitive to the employees who were given short-shrift by the outsourcing and promised them “comparable job opportunities within the bank.”

He went on to promise the bank would review its employment policy with outside agencies such as iGate and vowed to keep all of their client call centres in Canada.

[ More Brew: Report warned foreign worker was poised for misuse]

RBC may have been lawful in hiring iGate to fill those sudden job vacancies, it may even be truthful in saying there was no intention to give Canadian jobs away to temporary foreign workers. But that decision sure helped the bottom line.

And sometimes, that is all companies notice. The bottom line. Perhaps the public outrage over the decision has finally reached a point that it was affecting the bottom line. That, or RBC woke up with a conscience.

Either way. They are really, really sorry that bankers across the country are mad at them.