TCS hires 12,500 US employees in 5 years; biggest IT services job creator

Creates more than half the jobs by global IT firms in US, says study, ahead of Modi's US trip

India's largest software exporter Tata Consultancy Services has hired 12,500 people in the five years to 2016 in the US, creating more than half of the jobs by global IT services firms in America, according to a study by The Cambridge Report.

The Indian software major has spent over $3 billion (Rs 19,360 crore) on employment, educational and academic partnerships over the past three years in the US. TCS had posted consolidated revenue of US $17.6 billion (Rs. 1,13,572 crore) in fiscal 2017.

"Our industry leading US recruitment, advanced digital training of employees, and academic and STEM partnership programs act as a key contributor to the US innovation economy, while also preparing the current and upcoming workforce with foundational skills needed for 21st century careers" said Surya Kant, President of North America, UK and Europe, TCS in a statement.

TCS continues to hire 600-800 people every quarter in specialised roles in digital, cloud architects and even autonomous drone engineers.

The findings of the study comes ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the United States next week, where he is expected to explain to US President Donald Trump that Indian IT firms are net job generators in the US. He is also expected to discuss with Trump for a liberalised visa regime that would allow movement of Indian software engineers to the US to help American firms reduce technology costs through outsourcing and improve their profitability.

India's software lobby National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) has argued that Indian IT firms have generated over 50,000 direct jobs in the US, helping more locals get jobs in an uncertain market. It has also argued that outsourcing helps US firms to turn profitable faster and that would help generate more jobs.

Trump, who came to power on the rhetoric of protecting American jobs, has called for restrictions in the H1-B visa programme that allows high skilled engineers to work in the US. India says that it has reduced dependencies on H1-B visas, while arguing for improving people movement between the US and India.

At the same time, Indian firms are hiring locals in the US. Last month, Infosys said it would hire 10,000 people in the US over the next two years, while smaller rival Wipro says that it looks to increase hiring in the US to make 50 per cent of employees who are locals by end of this year.

TCS has been steadily increasing investments across US campuses through career fairs, leadership programmes and grants in more than 75 US colleges. Last year, TCS granted $35 million (Rs 225 crore) to Carnegie Mellon University. It have also invested heavily in improving women's engagement in STEM careers and tied up with Discovery Kids to transform the school education system.