Donald Trump doesn't want FAANG to hire in India, but supply gap means companies may not listen to him
That is because the reality of tech talent supply, demand, and cost tells a different story. The US simply doesn't produce enough engineers to meet the growing needs in its tech sector, and hiring in India offers huge financial advantages. So, despite political pressure, tech hiring in India by FAANG and others is likely to continue.Not enough tech engineers in the USLet's look at the numbers. Each year, according to the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, the US produces around 150,000 engineering graduates at the bachelor's level. In addition, around 50,000 students complete their master's in engineering, and roughly 12,000 receive doctorates. These sound like large numbers, but they're not enough when you consider how many people the tech industry needs. Just to give you a hint of the scale: Google employs around 1,80,000 employees. According to forecasts by the US Bureau of Labour Statistics, STEM jobs — especially in areas like software development — are expected to grow by about 11 per cent every year through 2032. In comparison, non-STEM jobs are expected to grow at just 2 per cent a year. That means demand for engineers is rising far faster than America can train and supply them.What this creates is a talent gap. There are simply not enough American engineers to meet the demand of growing tech companies, particularly at this time, as they get into an AI race with each other as well as the rest of the world. And this gap forces companies to look outside the country, with India being one of the top choices. advertisementCompared to the US, the number of Indian engineering graduates is extremely high. According to estimates by India's Ministry of Education and AICTE, India produces over 1.5 million engineering graduates every year. While not all of them are in tech and software, and not all of them have the skillset that top tech companies look for in their employees, the sheer number of graduates itself is an attractive proposition for hiring managers working with global giants. At the same time, there is also a perception that fresh Indian IT engineers, particularly from top institutes like IIT, are eager and ready to grind in a way that US graduates are not. Then there is the cost factor Along with the mismatch in demand and supply, another reason why tech giants love to have their offices in India is the cost. Hiring Indians in India is simply more cost-effective for tech giants. Take salaries, for example. The median annual salary of a software developer in the US is typically around $120,000 - $140,000 (roughly Rs 1 - Rs 1.2 crores). In cities like San Francisco or Seattle, the pay is even higher, often ranging between $150,000 - $200,000 (roughly Rs 1.3 - Rs 1.73 crores) annually. advertisementMeanwhile, an Indian software developer earns significantly less. The average salaries of Indian software developers working in the US are around $75,000 (about Rs 65 lakh) per year, and in many cases, they are even lower.In India, the salaries for the same role and same work are even lower. In some cases, they can be as low as Rs 20 lakh (around $25,000), or even lower for positions that are open to only trainees and interns. The lower cost is one of the biggest reasons why companies continue to hire from India. For the same skills and productivity, firms can hire more people, manage larger projects, or simply reduce expenses. Tech companies likely to ignore TrumpThe US President is the world's most powerful person. But even he cannot compel any private tech company to hire or not hire people in some other country. The US government can surely force the companies with some specific laws, but the Trump administration is unlikely to do that because it would hit the US tech companies adversely. That means Trump can only suggest, and that is precisely what he did on July 24. The logic and ground realities mean that tech companies such as Google and Meta will simply ignore his comments. At best, they may, as a measure of reverence, hire a few more people in the US. But in general, Trump's comments are unlikely to change anything in connection with the FAANG hiring policies in India. The US currently just doesn't have enough engineers, and is definitely not cheap to hire, to fill all the vacancies that the tech companies have.- Ends
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