CHENNAI: The 116-year-old global shipping and logistics major UPS Technologies on Monday inaugurated its first technology centre in the country at Chennai.
Bala Subramanian, EVP and chief digital and technology officer, UPS, in his inaugural address said, the unit spread over 51,000 sq ft, commenced operations six months ago, and is now fully functional. “100 employees are already working,” he said, noting that robotics, automation and other emerging technologies would be deployed with an emphasis on hiring human resources from rural areas with focus on upskilling tech talent.
Plans are afoot to add 350 more staffers by the year-end.
UPS also intends to hire 1,000 people by 2025 of which 30 per cent would constitute women and the hiring would go beyond Chennai.
Bala said from a humble beginning, the Seattle-based UPS had become a behemoth, now present across 220 countries with a turnover of $100 billion. If it were to be represented as a country, the US entity would be the 70th largest country.
The company is partnering with TN government in initiatives such as ‘Naan Mudhalvan,’ he added.
Chief minister MK Stalin rolled out internship offers during the launch event. In his address, he spoke about the efforts being made by TN to attract investments. The industrial innovation centres and the impetus to R&D had led to the creation of 30 global capability centres which is a mix of new and expanded facilities. These had generated 47,000 jobs and in three years, these were expected to multiply.
TRB Raaja, TN industry minister, said the establishment of UPS reflected the inherent advantages that the state offered besides the push to growth related initiatives of TN. He also highlighted the state’s manufacturing capabilities in RFID, drone technology that should act as a springboard for attracting copious investments.
Earlier this year, UPS said it is making a strategic investment of $15-20 million in India that will complement its existing technology teams in the US and Europe.