cost center

noun

1. any unit of activity, group of employees or machines, line of products, etc., isolated or arranged in order to allocate and assign costs more easily.

Example Sentences

Importantly, during MGARA’s existence in 2012 and 2013, insurers were permitted to offer trimmed-down health plans — they weren’t required to offer maternity care coverage, for example, a huge cost center.

From Los Angeles Times

AI ethics is “seen as a cost center, not a revenue center,” Chowdhury said.

From Washington Post

“For most of these organizations, security is a cost center. It’s a line item on the budget without an immediate benefit. ... You crash and burn, and only then you feel, ‘Oh, I should have had a fire department.’”

From Los Angeles Times

Currently, the software for us is entirely a cost center.

From The Verge

As I said, we are mostly a software company, so the vast majority of our engineering payroll is effectively servicing a cost center, which is interesting.

From The Verge