TCS Repeats 15,000 U.S. Hiring Plan After PERM Suspension

Tata Consultancy Services said Friday it expects a U.S. suspension of its participation in the Permanent Labor Certification program, known as PERM, to have no effect on its workforce strategy or customer engagements. The company reiterated plans to hire 15,000 additional people in the United States over the next five years. TCS said its PERM applications had been in single digits over the previous two years, a level it cited as the reason it expects the suspension to have limited impact. It also said it would comply with any directive from the U.S. Department of Labor. The U.S. government announced the suspension on Thursday, October 8, affecting eight technology companies: TCS, Cognizant, Infosys, Wipro, HCL, Capgemini, Microsoft and Adobe. Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling said the department would not accept new PERM applications from the named companies or process their pending applications. PERM is a labor-certification process generally used before an employer sponsors a foreign worker for employment-based permanent residency. It is separate from the H-1B visa program, which allows employers to hire foreign professionals temporarily.