Infosys to set up innovation hub in North Carolina, hire 2,000 Americans

The country's second largest software exporter, Infosys, has said that it will set up a technology and innovation hub in Raleigh, North Carolina, and hire around 2,000 American workers by 2021.

The new hub, which will open in early 2018, will occupy 60,000 square feet and has the capacity to house 500 workers representing another step forward in the company's previous announcement to hire American workers in the country.

The company plans to hire the first 500 workers at Raleigh innovation hub within two years, with the remainder to be hired in the state by 2021.

As part of its plan to hire a total of 10,000 locals for its US operations in the next two years, Infosys had earlier announced that the company plans to set up a centre in North Carolina.

The move is to persuade US President Donald Trump and his administration that criticised Indian IT firms for outsourcing "unfairly" taking jobs away from the US workers.

"The North Carolina Technology and Innovation Hub will focus on delivering cutting-edge solutions in artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, data and advanced analytics, cloud and big data," Infosys president and deputy COO Ravi Kumar said.

Towards its plan of hiring 10,000 people over two years, the Bengaluru-Based IT major has already hired close to 1,200 American workers.

"Attracting and retaining a skilled and motivated workforce is crucial to Infosys. The centre will help to serve clients in IT, life sciences, clean technology and advanced manufacturing sectors in a better manner," Kumar said.

As part of Infosys' commitment to growing 2,000 jobs in the state of North Carolina, the company is partnering with the North Carolina Community College System to create a customized program designed to train the workforce of the future.

New hires will include recent graduates from the state's prestigious network of colleges, universities and community colleges, as well as local professionals who will benefit from upskilling through Infosys' world-class training curriculum.

"We plan to include pre-employment training... as well as extensive post-employment training that will focus on technical and soft skills," said North Carolina Community College System vice president of Economic Development Maureen Little.

The North American market accounted for over 60 percent of Infosys' revenue in last fiscal.

Earlier on Monday, the company had said that to stay competitive in the industry, it is considering cost reduction measures without hindering investments in new services. However, the company has said that it will continue to hire around 6,000 engineers annually over the next couple of years.

"We continue to recruit. This year that just concluded we had a net addition of 6,000 and we expect similar kind of additions over the next one or two years, depending on the kind of growth you see in the market," said UB Pravin Rao, Infosys's interim Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director (MD).