India's Hexaware creates hundreds of jobs in UK

Hexaware Technologies is opening an operation in the UK which will host 250 employees when fully up and running by 2025.

The Indian IT and business services supplier, which has near 30,000 staff globally, is already in the process of recruiting the first 60 employees at the new site in Birmingham.

After strong demand for application operations, end user computing and service desk support services from pilot operation at the site, Hexaware has decided to expand the operation which supports the suppliers UK customers.

The initial decision by Hexaware to locate a new operation followed a trade mission to India led by West Midlands mayor Andy Street.

Street said the trade mission to India “helped us to strengthen the region’s economic ties with India”.

“India is now one of our region’s leading sources of foreign direct investment, and now the West Midlands Growth Company [WMGC] is spearheading our international strategy to further strengthen our reputation as the UK’s leading FDI recipient outside of London.”

R Srikrishna, CEO at Hexaware, said the company wants to use the site to  deliver personalised services to its UK customer base: “Birmingham and the Midlands, with their rich and diverse talent base, offer immense potential to meet both objectives.” 

Hexaware is working with the West Midlands Combined Authority skills to identify further top-tier talent for the office, which will also recruit from the region’s universities. Councillor John Cotton, leader of Birmingham City Council, said the city is “a hub of educational excellence”.

He added: “Our city is not only home to these world-class universities, but it also offers an exceptional environment for both local and international students and skilled professionals. With this expansion, Birmingham presents a unique opportunity to students and professionals alike to acquire invaluable industry experience through work placements with Hexaware, contributing to the needs of its global clientele.”

Hexaware is not alone in creating operations in regions of the UK with a ready supply of IT professionals. Fellow India-based IT services supplier Mphasis announced earlier this year that it is creating 1,000 tech jobs in West Yorkshire.

Increasing demand for locally provided IT services has driven the company’s strategy to reduce the proportion of its services delivered to Europe from India, leading the firm to invest in regional hubs within Europe.

West Yorkshire is one such hub location. New recruits, which will come from the wider Northern region, will serve the operation centre in Leeds, either remotely or in person. Mphasis, which traditionally uses global delivery centres in India, is building these hubs with strong relationships with universities.

In recent years, Indian-headquartered IT services giant’s Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys have beefed up their UK operation in a bid to increasingly provide services from the regions customers are in, reducing the reliance on services directly from India.