Date: Mon, 10 Mar 2003 15:22:45 -0800 From: Norm Matloff To: Norm Matloff Subject: Sen. Clinton supports H-1B/L-1 To: age discrimination/H-1B/L-1 e-newsletter It's amazing that someone who is widely reported to be planning to run for president would so proudly announce her relationship to Tata, one of the top users of H-1Bs and L-1s. Note also the following quote: But critics say TCS usually outsources projects to its development centers in India, leaving a negative impact on the local economy. "Their proposals are generally that the work is taken outside the U.S.," said Jim Boldt, chief executive of Computer Task Group in Buffalo, a competitor of TCS. "They come in and displace U.S. workers." Actually, CTG is itself a major H-1B user (and promiment ITAA ally). Norm http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20030308/1046850.asp Software firm from India to open Buffalo office By FRED O. WILLIAMS News Business Reporter 3/8/2003 Tata Consultancy Services, an Indian technology giant, plans to open an office in Buffalo to recruit clients and workers in Western New York. TCS will hold an opening ceremony on Monday, representatives said, drawing Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton from Washington, D.C., and Subramaniam Ramadorai, the company's chief executive, from Mumbai, India. The event will be at the Hyatt in downtown Buffalo. Asia's largest technology services company and its biggest software exporter, TCS uses professionals in the U.S. and India to develop software for corporations and governments. Its 50 offices around the U.S. and Canada have about 5,000 employees. "Their model is offshore - onshore," spokeswoman Leanne Scott Brown said, combining the work of developers in the U.S. and abroad. The idea for the Buffalo office, located in downtown's Liberty Building, grew out of a tour of upstate cities that Clinton arranged for TCS officials and other executives last summer, a spokeswoman said. "She introduced the company to Buffalo," Clinton spokeswoman Jennifer Hanley said. TCS is looking to expand its base of government and banking clients with its Buffalo location, Brown said. It usually forms relationships with local universities and recruits technology graduates. Economic development officials said Tata's presence will sharpen Buffalo's technology skill set and help modernize its industrial base. "This is certainly a very recognizable company," said Thomas Kucharski, president of Buffalo Niagara Enterprise. "It can only help us remake the image of the area." But critics say TCS usually outsources projects to its development centers in India, leaving a negative impact on the local economy. "Their proposals are generally that the work is taken outside the U.S.," said Jim Boldt, chief executive of Computer Task Group in Buffalo, a competitor of TCS. "They come in and displace U.S. workers." He compared the shift of high-tech work offshore to the hollowing out of the steel industry by imports. TCS benefits from low labor costs for Indian engineers and software writers, he said. CTG has about 350 workers in Western New York, but only about 2 percent of its client base here, Boldt said. It sometimes competes with TCS on bids for technology projects. TCS recently announced the delivery of a computerized unemployment claims system for New Mexico, an example of its focus on government projects. The system, which uses Web and phone connections to process claims, won a prize for best solutions at a government technology conference. After beating several U.S. consulting firms to win the project, TCS used 25 consultants in New Mexico and 80 in India to build the system, the company said. In Buffalo, TCS has an advance group of about 10 people opening the Liberty Building office, Brown said. Regional employment might grow to employ as many as 200 people, she said, as projects for clients ramp up. TCS clients include major financial institutions such as Citibank, Bank of America and Bank of New York, Brown said. TCS has had talks with HSBC Bank, which will attend the opening announcement, she said. HSBC spokeswoman Kathleen Rizzo Young said the London-based financial company doesn't plan to outsource software development. TCS representatives met with bank officials last year during an introductory visit to Buffalo to gather information about the area. "They were interested in real estate . . . I think they assumed we owned the building," Young said, referring to the HSBC Tower. HSBC said last year it had shifted some administrative tasks to its operations in India, where labor costs are lower. The bank doesn't use offshore contractors for technology services, Rizzo Young said. Headquartered in Mumbai, formerly called Bombay, TCS has annual sales of $880 million and 20,140 global employees. Its North American operations, headquartered in New York City, generate more than 65 percent of total sales. TCS is part of India's Tata Group, whose 80 companies include chemical and auto component suppliers, cell phone systems, steel makers, power plants and financial services. Like other service contractors such as Wipro and Keane, TCS doesn't need an office in Western New York to pursue clients here, said Brian A. Griffin, executive director of the trade group Infotech Niagara. The fact that it's opening one here is a healthy sign, he said. "I look at it as a positive, that companies look at our area as an opportunity to do business," he said. e-mail: fwilliams@buffnews.com