Infosys plans to add 12,000 locals to US headcount by 2022

Information technology (IT) major Infosys Ltd said it will hire 12,000 American workers over the next two years, creating a 25,000 strong workforce in the U.S over five years, the company said on Tuesday. This is part of its strategy to increase local hiring in the country.

In 2017, Infosys committed to hiring 10,000 American workers over two years and has exceeded that goal by creating 13,000 jobs in the US to date. Through this expanded commitment, Infosys will hire an additional 12,000 workers by 2022 across a variety of roles.

“Our commitment to creating 12,000 new American jobs comes at a critical moment as the covid-19 pandemic has created economic turmoil,” said Ravi Kumar, President, Infosys.

The company will target experienced technology professionals as well as recent graduates from major universities and colleges to create a strong workforce.

“Infosys has been intensely focused on creating jobs in the US for the past three years, and I am proud that this new commitment to hire 12,000 American workers by 2022 expands on that previous initiative,” said Salil Parekh, CEO, Infosys. “We are excited to grow our presence in the U.S. as the digital transformation journeys of our clients accelerate,” he added.

This move gains significance given the current restrictions on the H1B1 visa. Indian IT services companies have been trying to increase their local hiring to reduce their dependencies on the H-1B visa which allows companies to temporarily employ foreign workers in speciality occupations in the US.

Infosys will prepare workers for 21st-century careers by leveraging the training and reskilling programmes it has built with partners. Its recently launched Reskill and Restart platform will play a crucial role in hiring local talent. “We will bring a specific focus on building pathways for those who have been impacted by the economic downturn and look forward to bringing on board individuals without traditional four-year degrees,” added Kumar.

As part of Infosys’ localisation efforts, 78% of its senior management staff was hired locally in FY20, the company said in its 13th Annual Sustainability Report 2020. Infosys had said across the world, it is committed to “going local” to strengthen its profile as an employer of choice and be part of the local ecosystem.

In the past three years, Infosys has launched six technology and innovation centers in U.S. across Indiana, North Carolina, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Texas, and Arizona.

Infosys’ training and education infrastructure has allowed the company to cultivate top tech talent outside of the traditional tech hub geographies and provide American workers with new pathways to transition from conventional jobs across various industries and workstreams to digital and operations jobs of the future, the company said on Tuesday. Live Mint