After Walgreens, Starbucks to set up first India GCC in Chennai; 800 tech jobs

CHENNAI: In another major addition to Tamil Nadu’s expanding Global Capability Centre (GCC) ecosystem, US coffee giant Starbucks is set to establish its first GCC in India in Chennai, creating high-paying employment opportunities for 800 technology professionals.

The development comes days after US healthcare and pharmacy major Walgreens signed an MoU to establish its first India GCC in Chennai, underlining the growing interest of American companies in the State’s technology and business-services ecosystem. Walgreens’ proposed centre is expected to create more than 250 jobs in its first year.

An MoU for Starbucks’ proposed GCC was signed with Guidance TN, the State government’s investment promotion agency, in the presence of Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay at the Secretariat here on Monday.

The Starbucks centre will be the company’s first GCC in India and will operate independently of its retail business partnership with Tata Consumer Products in the country, the State government said.

Tamil Nadu is currently home to more than 465 GCCs, according to recent industry reporting, with Chennai emerging as a major hub for such centres. The State has also recently announced a GCC corridor and development programme aimed at attracting and scaling the next generation of global capability centres.

Starbucks Chief Technology Officer Anand Varadarajan said India was considered a very important country for the company and that Chennai had a large pool of skilled technology professionals.

He said the availability of skilled talent, lower attrition, strong infrastructure and incentives offered by the Tamil Nadu government would help the company develop new solutions and expand its business.

Vijay said it was a matter of great happiness that Starbucks had chosen Chennai for its global capability centre, adding that the decision reflected the confidence placed by a globally recognised company in Tamil Nadu and the capabilities of its youth.

He said the investment would create new employment opportunities for skilled young people and reinforce Tamil Nadu’s credentials as a destination for high-end companies.