Salesforce set to hire thousands in India after hitting brakes on US recruitment
Headcount in subcontinent quadruples in 3 years thanks to CFO's 'measured approach' to recruitment
Salesforce is set to hire 2,500 staff in India – bringing the number in the subcontinent to 10,000 – weeks after it slowed hiring in the US.
The global CRM giant will recruit the number by the first quarter of next calendar year, said Salesforce India CEO Arundhati Bhattacharya in an interview with Press Trust of India.
The increase follows steady acceleration of the company's operations in India – which has bases in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Pune, Gurugram, and Jaipur. In April 2020, Salesforce employed 2,500 in India.
Following second quarter results in June, CFO Amy Weaver told investors Salesforce was taking a cautious approach to hiring in the uncertain economic environment.
"We're asking each leader to step up and look at their businesses and prioritize. I do believe that we are continuing to invest into growth, which still remains our No. 1 priority. In terms of the specific drivers, definitely continuing to take a measured approach and a very deliberate approach on hiring," she said.
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Other tech giants are also seeing opportunities for hiring outside the US and European markets.
Microsoft is reportedly planning to increase its workforce in China to more than 10,000 next year, up from roughly 9,000 currently.
Similar to Salesforce, the Redmond software company's move comes on the back of cooling in the US. In July, it hit the brakes on hiring in several software and collaboration product areas including Windows, Office, and Teams. This was, Microsoft said at the time, merely preparation for the new financial year starting in July and to align resources with opportunities. Earlier in the month it said it was laying off 1 percent of its 180,000-strong workforce.
The company is not alone in pulling in the horns in terms of new recruits. In June, networking giant Cisco signaled its response to macroeconomic red flags of high inflation and uncertain growth.
Richard Scott Herren, Cisco senior veep and chief financial officer, told the Nasdaq Investor Conference: "I think it is a time for everyone to be prudent… so we're doing the same." ®