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CGI to hire 15,000 over the next 5 years

BENGALURU: CGI plans to hire nearly 15,000 people in India over the next four to five years, the Canadian IT services provider’s founder said.

The software services company’s India offices, which currently employ nearly 15,000 people, play a strategic role in service delivery across key markets. The about $12 billion company follows a strategy of setting up bases close to client locations, either organically or through acquisitions, Serge Godin, founder and executive chairman of CGI told ET in an interview. India continues to be one of the largest facilities outside Montreal, he added.

CGI mainly delivers services to the India offices of global clients here. It earns half of its revenue from managed IT services or outsourcing. “So, we double the size of CGI every three to four years or five…And the big winner from that point of view in terms of market presence would be obviously India, because the country is really at the core of the solutions,” said Godin. “So, it means that we should probably double globally. Here in India, we should exceed at that pace,” he added.

The firm which has made 110 acquisitions in the past four decades, may look at acquisitions in India too, Godin said, without disclosing details. He said enterprise tech services companies that are located near some of its clients could complement growth.

The company is facing a talent shortage in India. It has active relationships with universities through industry body Nasscom and follows a hire-and train model like other tech services firms. As businesses transform themselves digitally, the IT services companies need to be located closer to clients. This is changing the fundamental outsourcing model followed by technology services providers, Godin said.

The firm is expecting a possible economic slowdown in some key markets such as the US and UK and may need to expand across geographies to drive growth. Whenever there has been an economic slowdown, organisations step up focus on outsourcing and that should continue, he said.

Source: Economic Times