Indian IT firm Infosys continues push into US
- Infosys on Wednesday opened a large technology hub in Hartford, Connecticut, where it plans to employ 1,000 Americans by 2022.
- This is Infosys' third hub in the U.S., following openings in Indiana and North Carolina over the last year, with two more planned.
- Infosys' expansion comes as a shortage of highly skilled talent in the U.S. has pushed major firms to look overseas, and amid the Trump administration's calls for tougher immigration policies.
Add Infosys to a growing list of foreign companies continuing to invest in U.S. jobs amid growing calls from the U.S. administration for tougher immigration policies.
Infosys on Wednesday opened a large technology hub in Hartford, Connecticut, where it plans to employ 1,000 Americans by 2022.
This is Infosys' third hub in the U.S., following openings in Indiana and North Carolina over the last year. The plan is to open two more hubs in Arizona and Texas.
President Ravi Kumar told CNBC that Infosys has made 7,000 new hires across the U.S. with plans to reach 10,000 by the end of 2019.
"We are creating new talent that does not exist in the market," Kumar said to CNBC by phone.
Infosys is not disclosing how much it is investing in its new innovation centers, but it said it is putting as much as $20,000 into training each undergraduate and new hire in technology skills.
"Hiring here [in the U.S.] and training here has been the magic formula," said Kumar.
Infosys' expansion comes as corporate executives are dealing with a shortage of highly skilled talent in the U.S. that has pushed major firms to look overseas.
The announcement also coincides with the U.S. administration's tougher stance on immigration. In the past two years, Indian IT/outsourcing firms such as Infosys have been criticized by immigration hawks in Washington for taking advantage of the H-1B visa program.
Data from 2016 shows that Indians accounted for over 70 percent of H-1B visas.
Shares of Infosys are up 25 percent over the past one year.