Infy slows hiring in Bangalore, to expand in other cities

BANGALORE: With growing infrastructure problems and the inability to get more land in Bangalore for further expansion, IT services major Infosys Technologies is planning to grow in other Indian cities.

“In the last 4-5 years, compared to Bangalore, we are growing at a faster rate in other cities. This is because we have not been given more land in Bangalore,” said TV Mohandas Pai, CFO, Infosys.

Infosys now has around 50,000 employees across nine cities in India including three in Karnataka - Bangalore, Mysore and Mangalore. In Bangalore, the company has around 16,000 employees.

Although the Karnataka government has approved the company's request for 845 acres, the land has not yet been allotted to Infy.

Replying to a question whether the company would be shifting its operations from Bangalore to other cities, Nandan M Nilekani, CEO, Infosys, said, “If we don't have land to grow, we have to go where we can scale our operations. We are following the path of least resistance.”

“The travel time to work has increased (in Bangalore) due to very large industrial growth in the city. We are able to scale up faster in other cities,” added Pai.

The company is planning to add around 20,000 (gross) employees across the company's centers in various locations including Chandigarh, Mohali, Mysore, Bhubneswar and China. Pai said that it was unfair to blame the IT industry for issues like traffic problems and bad roads.

“We have created high paying jobs for 50,000 people with an average salary of Rs 5 lakh. This is an example of sizeable job creation in India's private sector. Out of the 24 lakh vehicles that ply on Bangalore roads, IT employees use around 1.5 lakh vehicles. How can you blame the IT industry for creating problems?” he asked.

Infosys makes up for 14 percent of Karnataka's total software exports and has invested about Rs 1,744 crore in Karnataka.