Indian IT giants such as Infosys, TCS and Wipro are rapidly following the United States’ Hire American plan. Infosys announced on March 14 that it will be opening a new office at Hartford, Connecticut, for which it will hire 1,000 American citizens by 2022.
The IT company’s latest Technology and Innovation hub will be a $20.6 million project focusing on healthcare, insurance and manufacturing, and will offer data security and data-sharing services to its clients.
“Today marks yet another landmark day in Connecticut’s economic development efforts at a time when our investments are bringing new life and vigor to our capital city,” governor Dannel P. Malloy said in a statement. “I am thrilled to welcome Infosys to Connecticut and congratulate them on their decision to establish a technology and innovation hub in Hartford. Connecticut’s tremendous assets and talent pipeline continue to attract high caliber companies to the state, and I look forward to the value that Infosys will bring to our business community.”
On March 6, Infosys inaugurated its Technology and Innovation Hub in Indianapolis. The company also announced that it has hired more than 2,500 American workers over the past year as part of its ongoing commitment to accelerate innovation for American enterprises.
The company had earlier opened offices in Raleigh, North Carolina and Providence, Rhode Island as well.
The additional jobs in the United States, coupled with planned cuts in H-1B visa for Indians, are being seen by industry experts as a sign that Indian companies are crumbling under pressure from America. Another IT company, Cognizant, which has a large presence in India, recently cut jobs in the country to add employees in the United States and Europe.
The IT industry witnessed a turmoil in 2017 in India, with about 56,000 people getting laid off. The layoffs are also influenced by the growth of automation and digitization.
“In fact, the trend was set in much before the new U.S. government took charge. The number of people hired on visas was around 50,000 for top Indian companies in 2015, which came down by 50 per cent in 2016,” Shivendra Singh, vice president, global trade development, Nasscom, told Business Standard.
Cognizant hired 6,000 American workers in 2017 and plans to hire 25,000 more over the next five years. According to Wipro, half of its 14,000 employees in the United States are locals. Tech Mahindra also announced that it would be hiring 100 locals in its Atlanta office.