Dell to double staff in India to 20,000

Michael Dell, founder and chairman, Dell Computers, has announced that the company will double the staff strength of its India operation to 20,000 over the next three years. He said the company plans to double the size of its India-based product development team from the present 300 to 600 within the next one year itself.

Speaking at a press conference in Bangalore, Dell said, "We have some big plans for growth here in India. We expect that over the next three years our headcount in India to roughly double from 10,000 to 20,000. We see a fantastic opportunity for us to attract some of the best and bright engineers for our software and hardware activities."

Dell disclosed that the company witnessed a 40 per cent growth in the last quarter and was tracking a growth in excess of 40 per cent this year too. "Our intent is to keep up the aggressive growth rate (40 per cent)." Dell said that once the company puts up the unit in India and broadens its range, it would look to offer products in the consumer space in this country in various price points. He said in India, Dell would continue to invest in R&D, focus on hiring engineering talent to support its global operations and expand customer contact centres, and sales and support staff.

Dell also disclosed that the company was engaged in discussions with several state governments to set up a manufacturing unit in India. The proposed manufacturing unit would initially start assembly operation to meet local demand and then look to exports. Dell said "We have been in discussions with several state governments with regard to various incentives, infrastructure, logistics to be able to put in place a really first-class capability for manufacturing products of great volumes."