Infosys plans to hire additional 500 tech employees in Rhode Island by 2023

India's second largest IT services firm Infosys on Thursday said it plans to hire 500 additional tech workers in Rhode Island, US by 2023.

These 500 new employees are part of Infosys' broader workforce commitment and its recent announcement to hire 12,000 additional workers in the country, bringing its total commitment to 25,000 roles, Infosys said in a statement.

In 2017, Infosys had committed to hiring 10,000 American workers over two years, and has created 13,000 jobs in the US to date.

Earlier this month, the Bengaluru-based company announced plans to hire 12,000 American workers over the next two years to add to its workforce in the US.

Infosys had opened its Digital Innovation and Design Center in Providence, Rhode Island last year.

The company has set up six 'Technology and Innovation Centres' in the US across Indiana, North Carolina, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Texas, and Arizona in the past three years.

Infosys said the new employees will work on a variety of tech-focused roles, and its recently launched 'Reskill and Restart' program will be among the channels used to recruit and train employees.

This new initiative, explicitly aimed at reskilling workers who have been economically impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, begins with an aptitude and skills assessment, followed by curated job-specific skills training, and culminates in matching them with available positions, it added.

"Rhode Island's strong leadership, positive business climate, and innovative spirit are exactly what Infosys looks for in a host community. We are excited to increase our commitment to the State and continue nurturing design-focused specialists, as well as tech talent to serve the needs of our clients in the US," Infosys President Ravi Kumar said.

Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo said Infosys has been a critical partner to Rhode Island since setting up shop in Providence two years ago.

"I'm grateful for their contributions to our state, including this commitment to 500 additional tech jobs by 2023, recent work to launch the 'CRUSH Covid RI' application that is helping get the pandemic under control, and participation in Back to Work RI," she added.

The move comes at a time when the Donald Trump-led US administration has placed a number of restrictions around work visas for H1B visa-holders.

Earlier this year, Trump had issued a proclamation to suspend issuance of H-1B visas -- popular among Indian IT professionals -- along with other foreign work visas for the rest of the year, aimed at helping millions of Americans who have lost their jobs due to the current economic crisis.

In August, some exemptions were made for individuals whose entry to the US would be in "national interest" as determined by the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Homeland Security, or their respective designees.

North America is the largest market for Infosys, accounting for 61.5 per cent of its revenue, followed by Europe (24 per cent), rest of the world (11.6 per cent) and India (2.9 per cent), as on June 30, 2020.

Infosys had 2,39,233 employees at the end of the June 2020 quarter.

Industry watchers say while IT companies have been ramping up their presence in the US and hiring locals over the past few years to overcome visa-related challenges, these issues could continue, particularly during an election year.