Indian IT giants aren't moaning about US visa clampdown, but are tackling it head on

Whenever I write blog posts about how Indian suppliers are enabling UK employers to send jobs offshore I always think it's a bit unfair on the Indian companies themselves. After all they are businesses and will do what they can within the rules to profit. So governments can stop it by legislating if they want.

Although NASSCOM has had a buit of a moan on their behalves the Indian companies will take it on the chin and get on with working within the new rules.

Infosys and HCL, for example, are tackling the US clampdown on Visas after accepting they can't change it.

Like with the UK's intra company transfer Indian workers make up a massive proportion of people taking visas to allow them to work for their employers in the US.

A meeting between staff and management at Indian IT supplier HCL has revealed major concerns over the US clampdown. CEO Vineet Nayar met with staff this week and was barraged with questions about the issue.

The US has cut the number of Visas being given to Indian suppliers to take their staff into US customer bases.

His response to worker concerns was to acknowledge the problem and suggest that Indian technology companies get on with working around something they cannot change.

In a DNAIndia.com article Nayar says it would be best for Indian tech companies to go for local hiring in the US.

He said some US states were offering subsidies that make it attractive to recruit local talent rather than send people from India.

30% of HCL's US based staff are US citizens. This has increased from 8% five years ago.

I asked Infosys European head, BG Srinivas about this also. About 60% of the companies business is in the US. He says the company is not yet feeling the effects of the clampdown but he says "we need to prepare for legislation that could reduce the number of visas we get."

Similarly top HCL the company is addressing the issue.

Srinivas said Infosys will do three things to counter the changes.

1 - Infosys will definitely increase skills and recruit locals in the US

2 - It will increases the amount of work that is actually carried out remotely from India

3 - The company will increase the amount of services delivered via the cloud

Infosys has 25% of its workers, which is over 122,000, are in the US. Only 1600 are locals. Not really a lot so there is a lot of scope to increase its use of US locals.