IT Staffing Report: May 4, 2017

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Infosys adjusts focus in wake of H-1B visa changes

Infosys (NYSE: INFY), a global IT services and outsourcing provider, said it will focus on its US talent pool, offshoring and automation to combat changes in the H-1B program. The comments were made in a conference call with investors to discuss earnings results.

“As much as we think there is talent available, we need to create organically, so we are going to invest heavily on training and enablement in the US to increase the size of the pool we can capture,” said President and Deputy COO Ravi Kuma S. “In addition, I think the most important thing to do is actually reduce dependence of onsite talent, so you could do a lot more offshoring. The third important one is automation. The more you embrace automation, the less is the dependence on people to deliver and execute large projects.”

CEO and Managing Director Vishal Sikka said the role of visas in the industry has become too strong over the last 15 years and the company needs to focus on delivering value independent of visas.

“We have to deliver value to our clients in a way that is strategic to them, that is relevant to their future and obviously we have to comply with the regulations as we do that,” he said, noting the US is a huge market for Infosys and one the firm is “deeply committed to in terms of local hiring, local training, establishing training centers in the US.”

Separately, Infosys this week announced plans to hire 10,000 American workers over the next two years. As part of this initiative, Infosys will open four new technology and innovation hubs across the country.