IBM Corp's expansion in developing countries shows no sign of relenting. The technology company revealed on Friday that it now has 73,000 employees in India, almost a 40 percent leap from last year.
IBM did not provide updated figures for its work force in the US, which has held steady around 125,000 people in recent years.
Nor did IBM project its total head count. It had 355,766 employees worldwide at the end of last year.
If the total has risen by the same rate as last year, almost one in five IBM workers now is in India, its second-largest center.
Like many other technology providers, IBM has rushed to take advantage of the lower labor costs India offers even for highly skilled workers.
IBM's base in India numbered only 9,000 people in 2003, but it was about 53,000 last year.
IBM has been stressing not only the lower expense of working in India but the potential of the Indian market.
IBM executives told visiting Indian journalists last week that the company expected to see revenue from the Indian market jump to nearly US$1 billion this year, from US$700 million last year.
Armonk, New York-based IBM is also ramping up in other key developing markets. Its chairman and chief executive, Sam Palmisano, recently formed a new organization that will spur IBM's investment in emerging economies.
The plan is meant to capitalize on the higher growth rates in the so-called "BRIC" countries of Brazil, Russia, India and China.
IBM's revenue from those countries rose 18 percent in the first three quarters of this year, even after discounting the benefit of currency fluctuations.
IBM's total employee count in those countries now is nearly 100,000, up from 70,000 a year ago.
IBM's vice president of financial management, Jesse Greene Jr, would not forecast how much more hiring the company still might do in emerging markets.
However, "we see continuing good stability in the BRIC countries in general and good opportunity for growth in those countries as well," he said.
Intel Corp chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) is expected to meet with Taiwanese suppliers next month in conjunction with the opening of the Computex Taipei trade show, supply chain sources said on Monday. The visit, the first for Tan to Taiwan since assuming his new post last month, would be aimed at enhancing Intel’s ties with suppliers in Taiwan as he attempts to help turn around the struggling US chipmaker, the sources said. Tan is to hold a banquet to celebrate Intel’s 40-year presence in Taiwan before Computex opens on May 20 and invite dozens of Taiwanese suppliers to exchange views
Application-specific integrated circuit designer Faraday Technology Corp (智原) yesterday said that although revenue this quarter would decline 30 percent from last quarter, it retained its full-year forecast of revenue growth of 100 percent. The company attributed the quarterly drop to a slowdown in customers’ production of chips using Faraday’s advanced packaging technology. The company is still confident about its revenue growth this year, given its strong “design-win” — or the projects it won to help customers design their chips, Faraday president Steve Wang (王國雍) told an online earnings conference. “The design-win this year is better than we expected. We believe we will win
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) is expected to share his views about the artificial intelligence (AI) industry’s prospects during his speech at the company’s 37th anniversary ceremony, as AI servers have become a new growth engine for the equipment manufacturing service provider. Lam’s speech is much anticipated, as Quanta has risen as one of the world’s major AI server suppliers. The company reported a 30 percent year-on-year growth in consolidated revenue to NT$1.41 trillion (US$43.35 billion) last year, thanks to fast-growing demand for servers, especially those with AI capabilities. The company told investors in November last year that
Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) yesterday said it plans to ship its new 1 megawatt charging systems for electric trucks and buses in the first half of next year at the earliest. The new charging piles, which deliver up to 1 megawatt of charging power, are designed for heavy-duty electric vehicles, and support a maximum current of 1,500 amperes and output of 1,250 volts, Delta said in a news release. “If everything goes smoothly, we could begin shipping those new charging systems as early as in the first half of next year,” a company official said. The new
RSS