Dive Brief:
- Indian outsourcing firm Infosys announced Thursday that it will open its next Technology and Innovation Hub in North Carolina and hire 2,000 American workers in the state by 2021, according to a company press release.
- Infosys announced plans in May to open four Technology and Innovation Hubs in the U.S. and hire 10,000 American technology workers over the next two years. The first hub, announced in Indiana, will hire 2,000 American workers by 2021.
- Infosys also announced it will work with the North Carolina community college system to create a customized tech training program.
Dive Insight:
Infosys and other India-based consulting companies have come under fire for their use of the H-1B visa program. Large consulting firms based out of India were the leading employers of H-1B visa holders for the last three years. Some critics say those firms are responsible for displacing American workers.
The new U.S.-based tech hubs are designed to help take some of the heat off of the company and allow it to try pivoting to a new model that could enable it to survive and thrive under "hire American" rules. In April, President Donald Trump signed an executive order calling for "strict enforcement" of labor laws for workers coming to the U.S.
