Infosys BPO to open delivery centre in US

Infosys BPO will set up a new delivery centre in the United States before the end of this financial year.

The $300 million back-office services wing of Infosys has eight delivery centres across the globe, including in Mexico, but it did not have a center in the US so far. Swaminathan Dandapani, senior vice-president and head of global service delivery, told Financial Chronicle that the US delivery centre was the next logical step.

North American clients account for 62 per cent of the BPO’s export revenues, while the European clientele accounts for 26 per cent. Dandapani said the US will be a key market as the economy has been improving and outsourcing again. The US centre will be followed by more delivery centres in the UK and rest of Europe as the outsourcing scene continues to improve.

“All customers are looking to keep the costs down as they have done over the past year. Hence, outsourcing has continued to be a priority,” he said. The recession has significantly helped Indian outsourcing organisations as customers turn to low-cost suppliers to cut costs.

Infosys BPO will also be hiring to fill up these delivery centres, although it was not immediately known how many will be recruited. The BPO has 17,500 people on its rolls, with 3,000 employees outside India.

Indian outsourcing outfits were under huge stress when US president Barack Obama said that there will be no tax breaks for American companies that would ship jobs abroad.

But that cloud seems to have blown over. And now, with companies like Infosys BPO opening centres in the US, local employment would be created driving out fears of outsourcing.

Infosys BPO registered revenues of $71.3 million with a net profit of $16.3 million for the September quarter. It plans to hire 3,000 to 3,500 people during the current financial year. The company will continue to hire at the entry level which constitutes 80-85 per cent of our total employee base.