Dell to Hire 5,000 People in India

[ditchwitch]

Dell to Hire 5,000 People in India By RAJESH MAHAPATRA, Associated Press Writer
Mon Jan 30, 6:00 AM ET



NEW DELHI - Computer maker Dell Inc. said Monday it planned to add 5,000 jobs in India over the next two years, bringing its work force in the country to 15,000.


Dell is also looking to set up a manufacturing center in India, a move that could help boost the sale of Dell computers here, President and CEO Kevin Rollins told reporters after a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The Round Rock, Texas-based company will hire 700 to 1,000 workers for a new call center in Gurgaon, a satellite town of the capital, New Delhi, Rollins said. The new call center, the company's fourth in India, will open in April, he said.

The other new hires will staff call centers in the cities of Bangalore and Hyderabad in southern India and Mohali in the northern state of Punjab. Also this year, the company plans to double the staff at its product testing center in Bangalore, which currently employs 300 engineers, Rollins said.

During his previous visit to India in April last year, Rollins had said Dell would make India a hub for its software development and back-office work.

Currently, the company has three call centers in India, a product testing center for corporate customers and a global software development center. Some 10,000 people are employed at these facilities.

Scores of Western companies have been cutting costs by shifting software development, engineering design and routine office functions to countries such as India, where English-speaking workers are plentiful and wages are low.

But Rollins said his company's expansion plans were not limited to tapping the talent, but also benefit from the growing demand for desktop computers and notebooks.

Dell accounts for less than 4 percent of the 4 million computers sold in India, whereas the company's share in the global market is about 18 percent, he said.

Taxes levied by the Indian government on computers and computer parts are a major factor affecting pricing of Dell products and their sluggish sales here.

A manufacturing facility could help the company boost its presence in India, where computer sales are expected to increase to 10 million annually over the next three to five years.

"We have come to the conclusion that time is ripe to consider a manufacturing facility in India," Rollins said. "We want to do it fast," he said, but gave no time frame or investment details.

He said the company was talking to local authorities in several Indian states to identify a site and a decision will be made soon.

Dell currently operates nine plants, six of them outside the United States

[ditchwitch]

The article doesnt say anything about the outlook for new hires or cuts in the North American workforce, but I am sure they arent hiring 5,000 people here anytime soon. Also, if they dont sell many computers there now, what region is the call center going to serve? I wonder.

[PiST0N]

Oh no doubt.. but it used to be (and still is in some respects) that call centres would set up their hubs in Canada due to the multicultural background and the bilingual workforce. But now Canada is faced with the same issues of outsourcing to countries of cheaper labour. It's no fault to either the US or Canada labour force.. it's globalisation, baby! It's the way the world is designed to work.

[Catman Dude =^-.-^=]

Being hearing-impaired (or DEAF, I SAID DEAF!! for non-politically correct), it always irks me to have to strain to understand these foreign accents that I encounter on the phone nowdays. "HokinIhepoo?" They always give canned responses and answers from the help manual. Interrupt them to speak louder or clearer and they start all the way from the beginning. They never to seem to get annoyed or mad but I get no satisfactory resolution. "Hankuforculling Dell Customer Service Technical Response Center's Global Impact Resolution Team"

Catman Dude =^-.-^=

[thestuman]

Originally Posted by Catman Dude =^-.-^=

Being hearing-impaired (or DEAF, I SAID DEAF!! for non-politically correct), it always irks me to have to strain to understand these foreign accents that I encounter on the phone nowdays. "HokinIhepoo?" They always give canned responses and answers from the help manual. Interrupt them to speak louder or clearer and they start all the way from the beginning. They never to seem to get annoyed or mad but I get no satisfactory resolution. "Hankuforculling Dell Customer Service Technical Response Center's Global Impact Resolution Team"

Catman Dude =^-.-^=

wellfrankyou ferry much fo yo imput

[SirWilliam58]

We sure could use some new well paying industry in this country thats for sure, with Ford and Gm closing a lot of plants the american work force is taking some hard blows. It's hard to find a job these days paying over 10.00 an hour, therefor causing many americans to work 2 jobs to make ends meet.

[PiST0N]

The service industry is really taking its toll on the workforce. Many corporations are shunning even the talk of unions/representation and are willing to leave shop in a heartbeat and move somewhere that will accept their wages.

[dowo]

I agree we also should have never gotten rid of most of our manufacturing and gave it to china.

[dowo]

In this regard it all boils down to litigation. Greedy lawyers suing for evry little ridiculous thing and the lame brain judges that give them the time of day have caused insurance to increase at an alarming rate as just about everything else. Why do you think we need to get vaccines from other countries (flu)? Because companies in america are afraid to make them and get sued. Companies just move out where they dont have to worry about every little hound barking up their tree. If the litigation at least slowed down and the labor unions let the companies hire who they want instead of insisting they pay their ridiculously high wages then companies may start to stream in again. A public companies job is to increase their bottom line for their shareholders. Its hard to do that when you have somany regulations brought ontoyour company.

[wmo]

It wont be long till everyone is hiring in india, its getting WAY to common. Its already hard enough to get ahold of someone in customer service whats it gonna be like in 2 years...