Nortel to hire more in India

At a time when telecommunications equipment major Nortel Networks is cutting jobs globally, the company is planning to hire more in India to cater to the expanding wireless market.

"The global move will not have any effect on the company's Indian operations. In fact, we will hire more people here to cater to the needs of the market," the company's president (GSM/UMTS), Peter MacKinnon told Business Standard. He, however, did not give details of the company's hiring plans.

Nortel, North America's largest telecom equipment supplier, recently said it would cut nearly 3,250 jobs, down from an earlier target of 3,500, to save about $500 million in FY 2005.

"We see India as a growth market for wireless communications. As a result, we have increased our focus on GSM, CDMA, GSM-R (GSM for railways) and optical networks in the country," MacKinnon said.

"The deal with BSNL for 7 million GSM lines is a significant milestone for us," he added.

The company also has plans to increase outsourcing of research and development (R&D) work from India and China. "These are low-cost destinations offering world-class quality," MacKinnon said.

"R&D outsourcing has increased this year, compared with last year. And, it will keep the momentum," said Ashoka Valia, managing director, Nortel Networks India.

He said Nortel would continue with its partners for R&D outsourcing in India, and had no plans to tie up with any other company for this purpose.

Nortel has no R&D centre in the country outsources from Infosys, Wipro, Tata Consultancy Services and Sasken Communication Technologies. It has outsourced about Rs 1,000 crore worth R&D work from India over the last five years, according to industry estimates.