Bank turns to India to plug IT skills gap

US bank Wells Fargo on Tuesday said it plans in the fourth quarter to open a technology facility in Hyderabad, India, citing a shortage of qualified technical talent in the US.
The company said the opening is not a cost-cutting move and will not result in the loss of US jobs. It also said it will not employ customer service personnel or manage customer data at the facility.
US commercial banks with large India operations include Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase.
Wells Fargo said the facility will provide technology resources, including software development. It plans at first to hire 30 to 50 people for the facility, and might employ as many as 300 next year.
Victor Nichols, Wells Fargo's head of technology information, said in a statement: "This is simply about supply and demand. Like most major US companies, we're facing a shortage of qualified technical talent, and we're not able to continue to meet this growing demand for such talent here in the United States alone."
Nichols said US computer science graduates have fallen by about one-third in the last four years, while more technology and operations specialists are coming from India.
Wells Fargo said it employs more than 153,000 people in North America. It expects to hire more US-based technology specialists as talent becomes available.
Nichols said: "The comparatively small amount of work we're planning to do in India - the same as work done for us today by outside contractors, some in India - is not motivated by cost savings and thus will have no effect on our US-based employment."