IT companies should not become immigration agents : Narayana Murthy

Infosys founder and the doyen of the IT revolution in the country Narayana Murthy has taken a strong stand against the tendency of IT companies promoting overseas opportunities as their trump card, instead of creating more local opportunities. While an overseas stint is what many employees also aim for, this alone should not become the focus of the industry – he said. NRN was speaking at ISB Hyderabad at an event where he was honored with the ISB Honorary Distinguished Fellowship – he is also the first recipient of the fellowship. He made his views on the current trends very clear, stating how Indian companies have started behaving as though “they are agents for their employees to cross the Atlantic”. This, coming from someone who probably was instrumental in setting the IT ball rolling in the country.

While offering services to offshore clients at cheaper prices is one of the strengths of our IT industry, evolution of local jobs is key to survival and growth of the sector, feels NRN. An overseas posting cannot be the only pot at the end of the rainbow that all employees aspire for. “”My belief was that a corporation that has global aspiration has to be fair to its global employees. All Indian companies guarantee visas, they guarantee green cards”. This ‘assured foreign posting’ is turning out to be the bait most companies are using. The sad truth however is that, this cannot become a long term strategy as churn rates become very high as more and more employees find better opportunities abroad. In this pursuit, the company that has positioned itself as being ‘global’ is in no sense being fair to its global employees.

“The whole exercise has become as if they are immigration agents. I am sorry to say that. Indian companies behave as if they are agents for their employees to cross the Atlantic” – said an unhappy NRN. It must have been difficult for him to watch the industry that he pretty much single handedly founded take this this direction. This sort of an approach has also led to several protests among people in client nations, about how their jobs are being taken away by outsiders. US presidential hopeful and hardliner Donald Trump has been particularly vociferous about how China and India have been taking away their jobs. He has been pointing fingers at Asian countries, and proposes to scrap the H-1B visa programme to make it fair for American workers, and return their jobs to them. IT workers from India are one of the biggest beneficiaries of the H-1B non-immigrant visa.

While many people would single out Infosys as the single largest ‘immigration agent’ if one were to take this view, it is time the industry paused to take stock and find new direction. Cost savings alone cannot keep fueling demand – cost benefit too is a curve that will eventually catch up. The ‘dream run’ that the IT sector enjoyed will not last for ever, and many IT majors are already consolidating their operations, prioritizing operational efficiency and innovation over relatively smaller cost savings. This statement by Narayana Murthy in some ways endorses the view Trump has been touting. His concern is truly well founded, as the industry tries to find direction in terms of maturing. A truly global company cannot be about one country alone. Such an approach would reduce it to nothing but a body-shop.

Also Read:

Infosys staffer missing since Brussels terror attack confirmed dead

What would Donald Trump becoming President mean to Indians?