Dell to double headcount in India by 2009

" title="Dell to double headcount in India by 2009" />

Texas based computer giant Dell CEO Michael Dell said Monday that the company will double its Indian staff to 20,000 in the next three years. The move is part of the company`s goal to maintain a 40-percent annual growth rate. Michael Dell said there was a "fantastic opportunity to attract talent" in India. The world's top PC maker is planning to open a new production facility in India, to add to its four call centres and two testing and development units.

Dell has set up huge business process outsourcing units to tap India's vast pool of low-cost English-speaking workers. A growing number of Western firms such as General Electric are switching facilities to India, where there is a plentiful supply of skilled, English-speaking workers.

The Round Rock, Texas-based company has used India as a base to serve global clients in recent years, but it now considers to set up a manufacturing plant for PCs in India, Asia's third-largest economy and a growing market for desktops and laptops. The billion company is in talks with several state governments, negotiating incentives and infrastructure guarantees.

Dell, with about 4 percent of the Indian market, declined to give details on the upcoming PC manufacturing unit. Mr Dell however added that the US firm had yet to decide where in India to build the factory but was talking to politicians. Paul-Henri Ferrand, Dell's vice president & general manager for South Asia said, the U.S. company's new Indian plant may even export to Eastern Europe depending on its capability.