BELFAST, Great Britain (AFP) - As British unions cry foul over an exodus of jobs to Asia, one Indian information technology firm is bucking the trend, hiring 250 more staff at a call centre in Northern Ireland.
The recruitment drive by HCL BPO, a subsidiary of HCL Technologies, one of India's biggest global IT services and product engineering companies, is part of a 1.9 million pound (2.8 million euros, 3.4 million dollars) investment.
HLC currently employs 900 people in its call centre in south Belfast, an operation it took over from British Telecom in 2001.
Announcing the new jobs, Northern Ireland Economy Minister Barry Gardiner said the investment was "especially significant as it reverses the trend".
He said: "Many similar call centres have relocated outside Northern Ireland. Here we have a leading company from India investing in Northern Ireland."
HCL's global strategy was to increase its business in Europe and the United States and the expansion in Belfast would further consolidate the city as its key European base, he said.
The investment has been heavily backed by the province's business agency, Invest NI, which is providing 625,000 pounds in financial assistance and a further 295,000 for training.
Ranjit Narasimhan, HCL chief operating officer in Belfast, said the company was expanding operations in the city to enable it to develop opportunities that had been identified in European markets, especially Great Britain.
They were for a "quality provider of contact services to major clients in retail, banking and commercial sectors", he said.
"Belfast is an integral part of our business development strategy which now offers clients a blended and particularly cost-effective delivery of contact services.
"This strategy enables clients to access higher value added services from Belfast together with those from lower cost centres in India."