Outsourcer EDS expects to double the size of its
headcounts in India and China over the next three years, as it cuts
staff in the US and across Europe.
EDS currently has between 15,000 and 20,000 staff in the two
Asian countries, and in September 2004 EDS announced redundancies
of up to 20,000, mainly in the US and Europe.
The pledge to increase staff numbers in Asia came from EDS chief
executive officer Michael Jordan, speaking at a US management event
this week. Other companies to announce expansion plans in India
this year include Microsoft, Alcatel and SAP.
Jordan estimated that EDS had shed about 13% of its staff over
the past two-and-a-half years, since he was appointed as CEO.
He said expansion in China would put EDS in a better position to
win big contracts from the Chinese government.
Last month EDS agreed a £71.25m "aggregate" settlement with HM
Revenue and Customs to settle a long-running dispute over
IT problems with the tax credit system.
