In August, India’s second-largest IT services company, Infosys, signed a five-year agreement with Purdue University, allowing Purdue to train potential American employees that Infosys will hire, many of whom will be based in Indiana. As part of the agreement, Infosys Solutions Centers will be established at Purdue, focusing on solving business challenges that Infosys clients encounter.
Infosys became the first IT Company from India to be listed on NASDAQ in 1999. As the largest H1-B visa sponsor in the United States in 2016, Infosys has been reliant on Indian workers in the past, but is now seeking to decrease dependence on non-American workers. In May, Infosys announced plans to hire 10,000 American employees and build four tech hubs with a focus on education and innovation in areas such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and data science in the United States over the next two years.
Indiana was chosen by Infosys as the home for the first of its four US tech hubs. The new hub will be located in OneAmerica Tower in Indianapolis, employing up to 2,000 American professionals by the end of 2021. Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb announced that Infosys would receive a state incentive package after all the commitment of jobs and investments is fulfilled. As part of the Infosys US hiring plan, the company collaborates with Purdue to narrow the IT skill gap through training and education. Last year, Infosys Foundation USA partnered with the National Science Foundation and DonorsChoose.org to expand computer science education, particularly for underrepresented communities such as high poverty and Title 1 schools.
Indiana, traditionally reliant on manufacturing, has been working to combine its low-tax policy with a cost-effective workforce to attract more high tech investments as the technology industry continues to be a major driving force in the US economy. In 2015, nearly 200,000 net jobs were generated by the technology industry in the United States.
Xinxin Zhang is a research intern at the East-West Center in Washington. She is a graduate student in public policy at the University of Chicago.