India Inc:
India’s second-largest software provider, Infosys, plans to hire around 35,000 people over the course of this year, including 1,200 in the US. Nearly 13,000 staff will be added to its business process outsourcing (BPO) operations alone. The Bangalore-based IT giant’s total employee strength currently stands at 149,994.However, the announcement came as Infosys registered a lower-than-expected revenue growth outlook due to an uncertain global economy and currency volatility.
The forecast sparked general worries about the prospects for the country's estimated $100-billion outsourcing sector, which faces slowing demand from its western clients and intense competition from global rivals.
The decision to hire locally is also aimed at countering mounting political pressure against outsourcing in the US and Europe. The Indian outsourcing industry gets about three-quarters of its revenue from these two regions.
In the past, the country’s export-driven outsourcing sector has benefited from overseas clients keen to cut costs.
But an uncertain global economy, eurozone sovereign debt concerns and rising US rhetoric against the outsourcing of jobs to low-cost locations ahead of the November presidential election have triggered worries about a decline in demand.
Infosys, however, did report a 27.4 per cent jump in consolidated net profit for the fourth quarter that ended last month.
All eyes are now on its $4-billion cash pile, some of which may be returned to shareholders through a special dividend as it has not been used to make any major acquisitions.
