Unisys Corp. announced Wednesday that it is setting up a technology development centre in Bangalore, India, which will increase to 2,000 employees over the next five years. The company plans to spend US$180 million on the centre during this period for employment and related expenses.
Unisys’ new Indian centre will provide software development, maintenance, business process outsourcing (BPO) and technical help desk services, said Cal Killen, vice president of Unisys Global Services, at a press conference in Bangalore. The Blue Bell, Pennsylvania-based company plans to have around 300 staffers at the centre by the end of this year.
Unisys will also continue to outsource software development and BPO work to companies in India, which will add up to 1,000 employees working for Unisys over the next five years. These companies currently have about 550 staff working for Unisys.
“For more than 20 years, our strategy has been to source globally in order to meet client demands,” said Killen. “This new Indian operation will add capacity to Unisys’ global capabilities. This expansion of global sourcing options supports our commitment to meeting clients’ needs while consistently managing costs.”
Unisys currently has sales and marketing offices in Mumbai and New Delhi. Unisys had a joint venture in India with the Mumbai-based Tata Group. Called Tata Unisys Ltd, the joint venture manufactured Unisys systems as well as did software development for Unisys. In 1997, Unisys sold its stake in the joint venture to the Tata Group.
Despite protests from U.S. and European workers and politicians against outsourcing, companies continue shipping jobs to India unabated.
Nokia Corp. on Wednesday announced a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA ) research and development facility in Mumbai. The centre will focus on providing software support and technical expertise in CDMA technology while leveraging Nokia’s existing global CDMA competence to build a team of local talent specializing on the CDMA protocol, said a statement from the Espoo, Finland, mobile wireless equipment maker.