Expleo to double workforce in India, hire 5,000 people in 2.5 years: MD

French IT company Expleo's Indian arm plans to more than double its workforce in the country by hiring around 5,000 people over a period of two-and-a-half years, a senior official of the company said.

Expleo Solutions CEO and MD Balaji Viswanathan, who heads India business, told PTI that the company sees growth primarily on account of expansion of business in the US.

"The company aims to hire an additional more than 5,000 people over the next two-and-a-half years, including a focus on hiring fresh graduates. While other larger players are slowing down on hiring fresh graduates, the company believes it will provide future growth acceleration. The expectation is to double the current workforce of around 4,700 people, reaching a little over 9,700 employees," he said.

Expleo works with multiple industries on a global scale, with a primary focus on aerospace, automotive, and transportation.

Aerospace accounts for about 40 per cent of Expleo global business, automotive 35 per cent, transportation 10 per cent and the remaining 15 per cent comes from other sectors.

"In India, Expleo has identified a segmented target public that emphasizes the need to shift focus towards technology services, specifically banking, financial services, insurance, and enterprise resource planning (ERP).

"This sector represents a substantial portion of the Indian market, with approximately 60 per cent of businesses operating in technology services," Viswanathan said.

The company has dedicated sales teams in all geographies except Western Europe, the UK, India, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Australia, and the US.

"In these regions, the company functions as a captive for the group, focusing solely on delivery while the group handles sales," Viswanathan said.

He said Expleo has experienced consistent growth over the past few years, with an average annual growth rate of approximately 25 per cent.

"Despite anticipating some softness in the current year, the company still expects to achieve growth rates ranging from 16 to 20 per cent, which are considered high peaks," Viswanathan said.

According to a BSE filing, the company's consolidated profit declined by 12 per cent to Rs 20 crore in June quarter from about Rs 23 crore a year ago.

Consolidated revenue from operations of Expleo, however, increased by about 6 per cent to Rs 225 crore.

Viswanathan said the group is focused on expanding margins and sees opportunities in outsourcing work to places like India, including the US market.

"Previously, the company had a low contribution from the US, but it has improved and now stands at around 10-12 per cent. The company expects further growth in the US market due to the presence of teams based there to drive business growth," he said.