NEW DELHI: IT services giant, Infosys, will hire 12,000 more American workers by 2022 as a part of the firm’s commitment to create 25,000 employment opportunities in the US in next five years.
The company said that it will target experienced technology professionals as well as recent graduates from major universities, liberal arts colleges, and community colleges to create the best workforce for the future.
“Utilizing the training and reskilling programs it has built with partners, including the recently launched Reskill and Restart initiative, Infosys will prepare workers for 21st-century careers,” Infosys said in a statement.
The announcement comes at a time when Infosys topped the list of IT service providers whose H1-B visa applications were rejected by the US government in FY20.
According to the recent US government statistics, the rejection rate of Infosys’s H1-B visa applications stood at 59%, the highest among its peers.
In June, 2020 US President, Donald Trump signed an executive order banning the entry of non-immigrant visa holders including H1-B into the US when unemployment had soared to record levels.
Many Indian IT service majors have picked up their local hirings in the US amidst the stricter visa regimes and are now substantially less reliant on the H1-B visa hires.
In 2017, Infosys committed to hiring 10,000 American workers over two years and has exceeded that goal by creating 13,000 jobs in the U.S. to date.
“Infosys has been intensely focused on creating jobs in the U.S. for the past three years, and I am proud that this new commitment to hire 12,000 American workers by 2022 expands on that previous initiative. We are excited to grow our presence in the U.S. as the digital transformation journeys of our clients accelerate,” Salil Parekh, CEO, Infosys said in a statement.
The Bengaluru headquartered IT firm has over the past three years launched six Technology and Innovation Centers in the U.S. across Indiana, North Carolina, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Texas, and Arizona.
Through these centres, the company is training the locals to support American businesses in an increasingly digital future.
“While we continue to leverage our established university partnerships to strengthen our talent pool, our recently launched Reskill and Restart platform will play a crucial role in our growth as we meet this commitment.
"We will bring a specific focus on building pathways for those who have been impacted by the economic downturn and look forward to bringing on board individuals without traditional four-year degrees. Workers who have been left out of the digital economy will now have the opportunity to gain the skills needed for 21st-century careers,” Ravi Kumar, President, Infosys said.