White House lauds Infosys’ plan to hire 10,000 Americans
WASHINGTON: The White House has welcomed announcement by Indian IT giant Infosys Ltd that it plans to hire 10,000 Americans locally and said “we are glad companies like Infosys see opportunity in the American economy again”.
It adds to similar announcements from other companies “all of whom are renewing investment in the Unites States in the wake of the Trump administration”, said Ninio Fetalvo, a White House spokesman in a statement.
Infosys announced Tuesday it would hire 10,000 workers locally in the US over the next two years and open four technology centres, starting with one this August in Indiana, home state of the vice-president Mike Pence.
Wipro, another Indian IT giant, said last week it expects to have 50% of its staff in the US hired locally by the first quarter of 2018, and is already “moving aggressively on that front”, a source said asking not to be named.
Asked if the White House was aware of the Wipro commitment and what more it would like to see Indian tech firms do, the spokesman said he did not have any- thing more to add to the statement, first reported by The Washington Post.
Indian IT firms are in the crosshairs of the Donald Trump administration for their heavy dependence on H-1B temporary visas for high-skilled foreign workers and allegations that they “game” the system, leading to loss of jobs for local Americans.
President Trump signed an executive order recently seeking a review of the H-1B visa programme to end abuse and fraud and to ensure it was used to hire only the most talented and best paid. Referring to the order, Fetalvo said it set in motion the process of ending abuse of the work visa programme, ensuring that firms hire more Americans for well-paying jobs.