H1-B visa row: Infosys announces hiring of 10,000 American to pacify Trump

To tackle H1-B visa-related issues, India's IT giant Infosys on Monday said that it will hire 10,000 American workers over the next two years. 

Vishal Sikka, Chief Executive Officer, Infosys said, “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." 

Infosys will be opening four new technology and innovation hubs across America. These four hubs will also closely serve clients in key industries such as financial services, manufacturing, healthcare, retail, energy and more.

Infosys will hire experienced technology professionals and recent graduates from major universities, and local and community colleges, to create the talent pools for the future.

Sikka added, "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."

The company expects its first hub to become operational in Indiana in August 2017, and from which it plans to create 2,000 jobs by 2021 for American workers. 

Indiana Governor Eric J. Holcomb said, "It's so good to welcome Infosys to Indiana, and to expand our growing tech ecosystem with the addition of their estimated 2,000 Hoosier jobs." Adding he said, “Indiana continues to put the tools in place, such as the Next Level Trust Fund and incentivising direct flights, that allows us to attract and retain great companies like Infosys."

The company said that it will  also institute training programs in key competencies such as user experience, cloud, artificial intelligence, big data and digital offerings, as well as core technology and computer science skills.

US President Donald Trump has en vocal against losing American jobs to others and the new reforms in H1-B Visa law which turns out to be a not so good news for Indian IT companies. 

Recently, Infosys along with TCS were accused by US stating that they have violated the H1-B Visa norms by applying for a very large number of visas, more than they get and also by putting extra tickets in the lottery raffle in order to get the lion's share of visas. 

Till 2016, Infosys had a total of 33,289 labor condition application under H1-B Visa. 

Share price of Infosys was trading at Rs 922.45 per piece  on BSE, above Rs 3 or 0.33%.