Accenture Plc, global management consulting and
professional services company, create 15,000 "highly skilled" new
jobs in the United States, as IT services firms brace for a more protectionist
U.S. technology visa program under President Donald Trump.
The company, which is domiciled in Dublin,
Ireland, said the new jobs would increase the company's U.S. workforce by 30
percent to more than 65,000 by the end of 2020.
Accenture has more than 394,000 employees, of
which about 140,000 are in India.
IT services companies have come under the
spotlight after Trump said that his administration would focus on creating more
jobs for U.S. workers, who had been affected by the outsourcing of jobs abroad.
Major IT service companies, particularly those
based in India, fly engineers to the United States using H-1B visas to service
clients, but some opponents argue they are misusing the visa program to replace
U.S. jobs.
India's software services industry is also
concerned about a bill introduced in the U.S. Congress seeking to double the
salary paid to H-1B visa holders which would dramatically increase the costs
for the companies employing them.
Accenture said on Friday it would invest $1.4
billion to train its employees and would open 10 innovation centers in some U.S.
cities.
