"Focus on Localisation" - Infosys COO on H-1B Visa Suspension, Impact and Success strategies Adopted!

As a sigh of relief, IT services major Infosys said that the suspension of H1-B visas by the US does not make "logical sense". 

Infosys with over 2.39 lakh employees is unlikely to be impacted as it has been investing in ramping up local hiring in the country. 

"On the H1-B visa, obviously it doesn't really make any logical sense...various independent studies have clearly demonstrated the value that Indian IT service providers bring to the US economy and how they make the American companies competitive. Having said that, in the short-term, we don't see any impact," Infosys COO UB Pravin Rao said in a post-earnings conference.

Further talking about travel restrictions amid COVID-19 pandemic, Rao added that there has been zero travel due to travel restrictions and therefore, till December-end, the move by the US administration is unlikely to make any difference. 

"From Infosys' perspective, our focus on localisation has really helped us. Today more than 60 percent of our employees are visa independent. This we started about two, two-and-a-half years back and since we made the announcement in May of 2017, we have recruited more than 13,000 US nationals. So from our perspective, we are entirely de-risked and even in the medium to long term, we don't see an impact, we're fairly comfortable," Rao added. 

According to an Economic Times report, Infosys, which had more than 2.39 lakh employees at the end of June 2020 quarter, were surprised to witness 61.5 percent of its revenues come from the North American market.

Taking a look at the other countries, Europe has accounted for 24 percent of the USD 3.1 billion revenue in the June quarter, while India and other parts of the world contributed 2.9 percent and 11.6 percent of the quarter's revenue, respectively, ET further reported. 

Earlier last month, US President Donald Trump had signed a rule to suspend issuing of H-1B visas which is popular among Indian IT professionals. This move was aimed at helping millions of Americans who have lost their jobs due to the current economic crisis.

Ever since this move has taken place, most of the IT companies are furious over the decision. Even Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) had called the move an "unfortunate and unfair" one. Looking into its FY20 annual report, TCS has hired 20,000 people in the US in the last five years.

Meanwhile, top Industry body Nasscom had warned that this H-1B visa suspension could possibly force more work to be performed offshore as local talent is not available in the country.