HCL Tech to up Chennai headcount

HCL Technologies (HCL) plans to double its headcount from 5000 to 12,500 in Chennai in the next two years.

"We have the second largest presence in the city after Tata Consultancy Services (TCS ) and the only one with all 16 facilities located within city limits," said R Vaidyanathan, executive vice-president, HR head, HCL. The expansion is exclusive of its plans for ITeS operations.

All of HCL's facilities in Chennai are located within the city limits unlike most IT companies that choose to locate their operations on the outskirts mainly due to lack of large real estate for a single infrastructure.

"Though there is a definite shared infrastructure services gain when there is a single large facility, we have opted to stay within city limits as this helps us in reducing employee commuting time and also assist employee retention," Vaidyanathan added.

When asked about the proposed 50-acre campus facility planned in the national capital region between Noida and Gurgaon, he said that the facility is only 5-6 km from residential areas.

He also pointed out that facilities spread across the city helps to create identities along client, technology and industry lines. "This is part of the key determinants in strategy that we chose back in 1996-97 helping employees to focus on a particular industry like insurance for example," he said.

In Chennai, HCL focuses on services in the semi-conductor, aerospace, auto, telecom, medical devices and manufacturing space.