Another Big HR BPO Win For Hewitt- Thomson

LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill. –(Business Wire)– Feb. 4, 2005 — Hewitt Associates (NYSE: HEW), a global human resources services firm, announced today it has signed a contract with The Thomson Corporation (NYSE: TOC; TSX: TOC), a global integrated information solutions provider, to provide HR business process outsourcing (BPO) services.

Under a five-year agreement, Hewitt will provide certain HR BPO services in the areas of benefits, compensation, payroll, learning and development and recruiting for Thomson’s 28,000 employees in the United States. The company selected Hewitt after a highly-competitive evaluation process.

“We looked for an organization to serve as our HR partner,” said Jim Smith, EVP, Human Resources and Administration for Thomson. “With their deep HR content knowledge and process experience, Hewitt can help us improve and standardize processes, deliver quality service to our employees and reduce costs.”

“We look forward to partnering with Thomson,” said Bryan Doyle, HR outsourcing business leader, Hewitt Associates. “Our 64 years of HR domain expertise and proven process skills are the backbone of the strongest and most comprehensive solution in the industry–one that will allow us to deliver on Thomson’s HR needs.”

Thomson was assisted by the Everest Group in completing this transaction.

About The Thomson Corporation

The Thomson Corporation (www.thomson.com) with annual revenues of approximately $8 billion is a global leader in providing integrated information solutions to business and professional customers. Thomson provides value-added information, software tools and applications to more than 20 million users in the fields of law, tax, accounting, financial services, higher education, reference information, corporate training and assessment, scientific research and healthcare. With operational headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut, Thomson has approximately 39,000 employees worldwide and provides services in approximately 130 countries. The Corporation’s common shares are listed on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges (NYSE: TOC; TSX: TOC).

About Hewitt Associates

With more than 60 years of experience, Hewitt Associates (NYSE: HEW) is the world’s foremost provider of human resources outsourcing and consulting services. The firm consults with more than 2,300 companies and administers human resources, health care, payroll and retirement programs on behalf of more than 300 companies to millions of employees and retirees worldwide. Located in 35 countries, Hewitt employs approximately 19,000 associates. For more information, please visit www.hewitt.com.