Accenture Headcount In India Will Surpass U.S. Levels By August

The tipping point is here. For the first time, a major Western outsourcer will have more staff in India than in the United States, as Accenture says it plans to increase its head count on the subcontinent to 35,000 by August.

Speaking Monday to reporters in Bangalore, Accenture CEO William Green said the consulting and outsourcing company will add 8,000 workers in India this year, bringing its total head count in the country to 35,000. That will surpass the 30,000 workers employed in Accenture's U.S. operations.

"Though we continue to hire in other locations, too, the recruitment will be the highest in the subcontinent, as India has become a critical part of the Accenture world and integral to our growth strategy," said Green, according to text of his remarks released by Accenture India.

Accenture is officially based in Hamilton, Bermuda, but is regarded by many as a U.S. company. It has major offices in Chicago and New York City. In 2004, The U.S. Department of Homeland Security awarded the company one of the largest federal outsourcing contracts in history -- a 10-year deal to create a visitor entry and exit tracking system known as U.S. Visit. The contract is worth up to $10 billion.

Formerly Andersen Consulting, the company split off from defunct accounting firm Arthur Andersen in 1989.

In rapidly staffing up its Indian operations, Accenture joins a host of U.S. tech and business services providers that are themselves recruiting aggressively in the country -- where programmers skilled in working with the latest software languages earn anywhere from 40% to 60% less than their U.S. counterparts.

According to some media reports in India, IBM already has surpassed the 50,000-employee mark in the country. A spokesman for IBM says he is unable to confirm the number. Other U.S. outsourcers hiring by the thousands in India include EDS and Computer Sciences Corp.

With so many U.S. tech companies actively recruiting in India, some analysts are concerned that wage inflation in the country will soon undercut significantly the economic benefits offered by outsourcing there. According to industry executives, tech salaries in India are growing at about 15% per year.

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