Trump, H1B visa effect: Infosys to hire 10,000 American workers in next two years, open four tech hubs in US

As the Trump administration tightens its noose on companies to hire US nationals, Infosys has announced that it will hire 10,000 American workers over the next two years and open four new technology and innovation hubs across the country.

"Infosys is committed to hiring 10,000 American technology workers over the next two years to help invent and deliver the digital futures for our clients in the United States," said Dr. Vishal Sikka, Chief Executive Officer, Infosys.

"Learning and education, along with cultivating top local and global talent, have always been the core of what Infosys brings to clients; it is what makes us a leader in times of great change. In helping our clients improve their businesses and pursue new kinds of opportunities, we are really excited to bring innovation and education in a fundamental and massive way to American workers," Sikka added.

He further said: "New advances in technology - artificial intelligence, in particular - are radically transforming our world, and it is within our reach to learn these new technologies and to be the innovators and entrepreneurs who bring solutions based on these technologies to our clients in all industries."

The first technology and innovation hub is slated to open in Indiana in August 2017. Infosys hopes to create 2,000 jobs in this hub alone.

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"Having lived in the U.S. for nearly 30 years, and being a part of the incredible innovation here, I truly believe Infosys can help clients bring innovation more directly into their businesses, as they create and drive their digital transformations. We can achieve this by enhancing our ability to attract and recruit local top talent across the United States, by harnessing the global scale of Infosys, through software and platforms, and by educating and training people in the necessary skills," Sikka said.

The announcements come soon after a senior White House  official had spelled out the names of Indian companies Tata, Infosys and Cognizant for getting a "lion's share"of H1-B visas.

"Top recipients of the H1-B Visa are companies like Tata, Infosys, Cognizant - they will apply for a very large number of visas, more than they get, by putting extra tickets in the lottery raffle, if you will, and then they'll get the lion's share of visas," a senior US administration official had said. Indian tech companies use the H1-B visa to send Indian techies to the US.

In response, India's IT industry body Nasscom had come out in defence of its members TCS and Infosys , saying the two accounted for only 7,504 -- 8.8 per cent -- of the approved H-1B visas in 2014-15.

"Among the companies named by White House, the two Indian companies namely TCS and Infosys together received 7,504 approved H-1B Visas in FY 2015; which is only 8.8 percent of the total approved H1-B Visas," Nasscom said.