NYTimes: Dell increasing workforce in India

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Dell to Expand Its Operations in India Market

By SARITHA RAI
BANGALORE, India, Jan. 30 — Dell, the PC maker, will open a fourth call center in India, add 5,000 employees to its current 10,000 workers and begin manufacturing computers here, the company said Monday.

The president and chief executive of Dell, Kevin B. Rollins, said at a news conference in New Delhi that the new call center, planned for the nearby Gurgaon suburbs, would join Dell's current centers in Bangalore and Hyderabad in the south and Mohali in the north.

The Gurgaon center will open in April and employ 1,000 by the end of this year. Other workers will be added to other sites around India over the next two years.

Mr. Rollins's two-day visit to India ended Monday and included a meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Dell, which currently has less than 4 percent of India's annual market of four million computers, also said the company would set up a manufacturing base in India to help it increase its share of the country's fast-growing market, Mr. Rollins said. Sales of computers in India are expected to grow to 20 million a year in the next few years.

Dell, which is based in Round Rock, Tex., is one of several United States technology companies that have recently announced plans to increase operations in India. These companies are investing in India to take advantage of its English-speaking workers to write software and provide back-office support. Salaries in India are rising, but still are a fraction of salaries for comparable work in the West.

These companies are also eager to sell their wares in India. Microsoft, Intel and Cisco recently have announced investments of $1 billion or more, along with plans to increase employment.

Dell's customer support centers are part of a 30-center network worldwide. India is the only country in Dell's network that supports customers around the world.

"As we continue to attract new customers worldwide, our team in India has played a vital role in the company's operations," Mr. Rollins said in a statement.