Green's day

IT services and consulting major Accenture sees its brisk pace of hiring in India continuing over the next year despite the gloomy global economic environment.

William (Bill) Green, Chairman & CEO, Accenture, who was in India last fortnight, announced that the company would increase its headcount in the country by almost a third over the next year. “We are looking at India headcount to touch about 50,000 in a year,” says Green. Accenture currently employs about 37,000 people in the country. Globally, the company plans to hire about 60,000 people by August 2008.

Accenture currently employs some 178,000 people worldwide. As if to underline India’s importance in the global scheme of things, Accenture held its global board meeting in India.

And unlike India’s largest IT services company Tata Consultancy Services, which reported muted profits due to project delays by customers, Green says that Accenture has not witnessed any project cancellations or deferrals so far. “So far we have not seen any deferrals or delays from our customers,” says Green.

Green is also largely positive about the health of the US economy. “The last time we had a consumer-led recovery. This time around, we are likely to see an export-led recovery,” adds Green.

— T.V. Mahalingam