Bengaluru: With the US government deciding to amend the H1-B visa scheme, Infosys CEO and MD Vishal Sikka said on Friday that his company will focus on hiring local talent.
“Given the background of the (US) President- elect (Donald Trump), we expect that the US administration will be business-friendly and entrepreneurial innovation-driven. However, on the visa front, we expect some policy changes. It’s too early for us to comment on that,” said Mr Sikka, addressing the media at Infosys campus in Bengaluru on Friday.
Mr Sikka believes that new technologies can have a huge impact on how Infosys’ global workforce can work together. “It (technology adoption) is an integral part of the company’s strategy to become less dependent on visa and overtime workforce, while becoming more local in approach,” he added.
Speaking to NDTV, Mr Sikka said, “I am myself a senior local hire, a US citizen!”
Despite various forecasts made by the analysts, Infosys posted a 2.8 per cent growth in its net profit in the third quarter ended 31 December 2016.
The year on year profits grew by seven per cent to Rs 3,708 crore in the third quarter as against Rs 3,465 crores in the same period last financial year. Mr Sikka stated that in spite of seasonal and other additional headwinds for the quarter, Infosys’ Q3 revenue performance was broadly in line with what was expected.
While the company crossed $10 billion revenue mark in 2016, Sikka said it is working to achieve $20 billion revenue and 30 per cent margin levels by 2020.
Despite its ambitious goal, the company, however, pared its full-year revenue growth outlook as it fights uncertainties in its biggest markets that could curb client spending on technology. Infosys said it now expected revenue to grow between 8.4 per cent to 8.8 per cent in constant currency terms.
