MNCs gobble up office spaces in Bangalore; hiring on anvil

Bangalore, April 27:  

Multinational companies are on a fast-paced expansion drive in Bangalore, taking up prime real estate space in the city and ramping up headcount.

Sources in the real estate and HR sectors said companies such as Robert Bosch Engineering India, Samsung, Ericsson, Honeywell and Volvo IT are expanding rapidly.

CB Richard Ellis India said in its recent report that almost six million sq.ft of office space was absorbed in key markets in the first quarter of 2011; Bangalore accounted for almost 36 per cent. “Majority of the lease transactions recorded in Q1 were from companies looking to expand their operations,” said Mr Shrinivas Rao, CEO – Asia Pacific, Vestian Global Workplace Services.

According to data from real estate services firms, Samsung may take up 3.5 lakh sq ft, Ericsson 5 lakh sq ft, Robert Bosch 3.6 lakh sq ft, and Amazon 1 lakh sq ft. Wells Fargo will occupy close to 3.5 lakh sq ft in the city.

Mr Vijay Ratnaparkhe, Managing Director, Robert Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions, said the company would hire in the engineering, IT and the ITeS segments. He confirmed that they have signed up for 1.2-lakh-sq-ft in Electronics City and is also looking for 2.5 lakh sq ft in Bangalore. The company is planning to hire 800-1,000 engineers in 2011-12.

Robert Bosch had announced that it would invest Rs 300 crore in infrastructure in the next two years.

HR sources said that MNC hiring, which is now running into thousands, has come full circle after taking a dip in the last few years.

For instance, Honeywell is adding almost 200 people every month, Ericsson plans to hire 5,000 people in the next couple of years across the country and EMC will hire 2,000 people.

With corporates renewing their expansion plans across most industry sectors, “both demand levels and transaction velocity are expected to remain buoyant in the near to mid term,” said Mr Anshuman Magazine, Managing Director, CB Richards Ellis India.

(This article was published in the Business Line print edition dated April 28, 2011) 

1. Samsung - 3.5 lakh sq ft
2. Ericsson 5 lakh sq ft
3. Robert Bosch 3.6 lakh sq ft
4. Amazon 1 lakh sq ft
5. Wells Fargo  3.5 lakh sq ft                     

          Total  1.6 Million sqft sqft Office Space Absorption in April 2011 Alone