IBM Corp., sensitive to allegations that it is moving U.S. jobs overseas to cut costs, described as "grossly exaggerated" a report that it plans to recruit thousands of staff in the Indian city of Calcutta.
The company does plan to expand its operations in India, but recruitment there will be "modest", according to Fred McNeese, IBM"s director of media relations for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
While the practice of moving manufacturing jobs to low-cost countries is commonplace, "offshoring" has only recently begun to affect the technology industry. IBM, and in particular its Global Services outsourcing arm, has been the focus of concern in the U.S. that many skilled technology jobs are being moved overseas.