Will Vishal Sikka's exit derail Infosys' plans of hiring in US?

Indian IT giant Infosys made quite some news in May after it announced that it would set up four technology hubs in the United States as well as hire about 10,000 employees in the country. It had also said that the first hub would be opened in Indiana in August 2017.

"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," Vishal Sikka, former chief executive officer, Infosys, had then said in a statement.

However, with Sikka's exit as the CEO and MD, questions are being raised on whether Infosys would go ahead with the US plans. The former CEO is known to have worked closely with the firm's clients in the US and also had a team of high-level executives in the country, mostly based in California.

"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 had explained.

"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."

Indiana Governor Eric J Holcomb too had welcomed the idea and explained how it would benefit the state in a big way. However, with Sikka resigning, sentiments regarding Infosys and its management aren't really positive at present, which could have an impact on US hiring.

Meanwhile, analysts believe that the impact may not be that huge, but the process is likely to see a slowdown. "Local hiring in the US is inevitable. It is not something Infosys is doing differently; all other IT forms are doing it. Sikka accelerated the process. But the process may get delayed," Pareekh Jain, IT analyst, HfS Research India told Business Standard.

"The projections were made based on future demand from the clients. And any turbulence there and a fall in demand may impact the timing."

The Bangalore-based firm had also announced in July that it would open a new technology and innovation hub in North Carolina and hire 2,000 employees at the facility by the year 2021. The North Carolina hub will be the second one of the four hubs.

Infosys has been focusing on hiring talent in the US since Sikka took charge, but experts believe that the limelight is now going to be on India and local operations.

"A company can get four people in India for the cost of every one person hired in the US or the UK. With Sikka moving out, the focus would be in realigning costs," the website quoted a senior executive.

Not just that, before Sikka, many of his high-level executives in California – Anirban Dey, Ritika Suri and Yusuf Bashir -- also resigned from their posts, which in turn may weaken the firm's US focus.