Dell Chairman Sees 100% Jump In India Workers Greg Levine, 03.20.06, 11:15 AM ET
New York - Oenophiles know that the savvy imbiber can find a perfectly serviceable bottle of vino on the cheap. Lately, the same goes for technology workers.
Computer hardware giant Dell (nasdaq: DELL - news - people ) said Monday it will increase by 100% the number of its employees in India.
The company's eponymous chairman spoke to reporters while on a field trip to Bangalore, the south Asian nation's tech hub. Michael Dell told the press that over the next three years, his firm's subcontinent staff will be expanded to 20,000.
"There is a fantastic opportunity to attract talent [here]," he was quoted as saying in published reports. He added, "We will ensure a major recruitment push in engineering talents."
Earlier this year, the firm hinted about the physical end of the business, reportedly saying it might create a manufacturing center in India.
The Associated Press quoted the chairman as saying, "We have been in discussions with a number of state governments in terms of infrastructure and logistics. We are yet to make a decision on the location of the plant." He demurred from giving any timeframe for a decision.
The news comes the same day as another U.S.-based giant announced it would boost its eastern presence: Wal-Mart (nyse: WMT - news - people ) said it'd add 20 new outlets this year and some 150,000 workers over the next four years. (See: Scott's Wal-Mart Ramps It Up In China)
Obviously the two firms are polar opposites in what they do: a rarified enterprise built on advanced engineering, versus a bulk marketplace; a business geared to refining its output according to specific customer requirements, compared to one that simply stuffs the aisles with everything it thinks could appeal to everyone.
But the extremes of the bell curve have a way of connecting unexpectedly--leading Forbes publisher Rich Karlgaard to label Wal-Mart and another polar opposite, Google (nasdaq: GOOG - news - people ), as " the business world's version of yin and yang."
No doubt the respective chief executives would drink to that.