IBM denies report it will hire 2,200 in Calcutta
It called the report 'grossly exaggerated,' but does have expansion plans in India
March 12, 2004 12:00 PM ETIDG News Service -
Sensitive to allegations that it's moving U.S. jobs overseas to cut costs, IBM described as "grossly exaggerated" a report that it plans to recruit thousands of staffers in Calcutta, India.
The company does plan to expand its operations in India, but recruitment there will be "modest," according to Fred McNeese, IBM's director of media relations for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
While the practice of moving manufacturing jobs to low-cost countries is commonplace, "offshoring" has only recently begun to affect the technology industry. IBM, and its Global Services outsourcing arm in particular, has been the focus of concern in the U.S. that many skilled technology jobs are being moved overseas.
According to a report in the online edition of The Wall Street Journal today, city authorities in Calcutta said IBM plans to increase staff numbers in the city to 4,000. IBM employs 1,800 people in Calcutta today, mostly in its Global Services division, the report said.
IBM disputed the report.
"The estimates for the current population [of employees] and hiring plans are both grossly exaggerated," McNeese said. "While we plan growth in India, it's both modest and nowhere close to what is being reported by The Wall Street Journal."
However, he wouldn't say how many employees the company has in Calcutta or what he meant by "modest" plans. "We're not going to comment on specific numbers of employees in an area of the country or on plans to hire," McNeese said.
Reprinted with permission from
Story copyright 2009 International Data Group. All rights reserved.
Outsourcing
Additional Resources



Learn the important issues you must consider before starting your next mobility initiative. Get your mobility white paper from IDC now, compliments of Sybase.
White Papers & Webcasts
Oracle Accelerate - Not Just Smart but Timely
Download Now!
Data in Action: Making the Planet Smarter
Register Now
Why BI is Ripe - Now! - For Businesses of Any Size
Download Now!
The Workday User Experience Video
Watch Workday's Creative Director, Scott Lietzke, discuss the business-centered design philosophy at Workday.
Rapid Implementation: The New Age of ERP
Download Now!
Business Process Framework Demo
Learn about Configurable Business Processes and Calculated Fields. Watch Now!
Manager Experience Demo
Go beyond self-service solutions to perform more effectively. Watch Now.

