Wipro to hire more Western staff

Outsourcer wants to boost US and European workforce to fend off protectionism

Wipro is looking to increase the ethnic diversification of its workforce

Indian IT services firm Wipro is planning to employ more US and European nationals in an attempt to mitigate against protectionism.

According to reports, the strategy is part of a drive to increasingly “globalise and localise” manpower and introduce ethnic diversity.

Around eight per cent of Wipro’s workforce of 97,000 staff is non-Indian, but the outsourcer is looking to increase participation in graduate careers fairs elsewhere.

The company could potentially take advantage of rising unemployment in regions where hiring staff was previously too expensive, said National Outsourcing Association director Mark Kobayashi-Hillary.

“Wipro can take advantage of difficulties in the management consulting sector to get experienced people at a lower cost than they would have spent before the economic downturn,” he said.

“With experienced local consultants available in the employment market, it's highly unlikely Wipro would need to consider acquiring expertise - they should be able to hire what they need.”

Other suppliers have focused on emphasising their access to talent pools outside of India. Tata Consultancy Services widely publicises its Global Network Delivery Model, which relies on expertise based worldwide and promises to improve cost efficiencies and better meet different cultural requirements.