Aegis BPO to hire 12,000 this fiscal

Aegis Ltd, the back office unit of the Essar Group, plans to increase its workforce by 12,000, taking the total to 43,000 by end of this fiscal, despite the debate over outsourcing by US companies.

Aegis will hire an average 1,000 people every month across India, the United States, Costa Rica, Africa and the Philippines, where it currently has operations.

"We will be recruiting a thousand people every month, so this year we will add 12,000 to our workforce globally. We have already hired 3,000 people since the beginning of this fiscal," Aegis managing director and global CEO Aparup Sengupta said.

"The Ruias-led company has earmarked a capital expenditure of $30-35 million this year, excluding cost on infrastructure," he said.

Aegis also expects a turnover of over $550 million and has targeted to grow at around 50 per cent in fiscal 2008-09.

"There is still an opportunity for outsourcing. In the next 10 years, domestic business will expand to $50 billion, which is a case for the Indian BPO industry to go after. International BPO business will be another $50-70 billion," Sengupta said.

Changing consumer behaviour, rising discretionary spend and the youth, which does not live frugally will help push up demans, he said.

Aegis is also looking at acquisitions and is currently evaluating 5-6 prospective assets in India as well as overseas, he said.

"There are no constraints on resources. We have a free budget for acquisitions. We are looking to set up base in China and Continental Europe this year," Sengupta said.

"We will mostly acquire overseas, because value expectations in India are too high. It has to be economically viable," he added.

Aegis, meanwhile, has set up offices in South Africa and in Nairobi in a bid to expand its global footprint. The company aims to be a $1 billion company in a couple of years, he said.