The major firms including Deloitte, PwC, and IBM are stepping up investments in new Indian facilities away from bigger cities as global demand for cheaper back office operations.
As per report, Ernst & Young in June said it expects multinationals to set up “global capability centres” for all types of industries in tier-2 cities such as Jaipur, Vadodara, Kochi, and Chandigarh.
Deloitte announced the opening of three offices in Pune, Chennai, and Kolkata and nearly doubles its workforce in 3 years.
In the coming year, over 10,000 skilled professionals specializing in various areas such as artificial intelligence, data analytics, cybersecurity, cloud, human capital, assurance, tax, valuations, and mergers and acquisitions will operate from these locations; Pune, Chennai, and Kolkata.
Deloitte, with a workforce of over 100,000 in India, says it will hire 50,000 more staff over three years, and expand its footprint in new towns while KPMG plans to hire over 20,000 over the next three years.
Deloitte, PwC, and IBM have opened offices in Bhubaneswar to serve Indian and global clients as the labour cost and operational cost is also lower in these cities. These companies are also opening campuses in tier-two cities due to the following reasons:-
- Rising wages.
- Declining accounting graduates in developed countries after the pandemic.
- Visa restrictions have helped India emerge as a powerhouse for global business services like taxation, data analytics, cybersecurity, and customer management.
Apart from these companies, the IT industry has also focused on Tier- 2 cities. Infosys also established offices in tier II cities like Visakhapatnam and Coimbatore. The new offices aim to encourage employees to work in a hybrid mode and provide them with greater flexibility while bringing them closer to their residences.
Accenture also launched new centers in Jaipur, Coimbatore, and Indore and has told employees that they could work from these cities at their convenience.
Persistent Systems also opened smaller offices to lure its employees back to office culture. The firm already has big facilities in various cities but to make it convenient for employees and reduce their travel time, Persistent Systems opens small offices in Pune and Bengaluru accommodating 200 employees.