Germany’s SAP Chooses India As New Epicenter For Workforce

Business software maker SAP will hire “over proportionally” in India, which will soon house its biggest workforce, overtaking the headcount in its German headquarters, CEO Christian Klein said on Wednesday.

SAP Labs India currently has 15,000 employees, the most number of engineers for the company worldwide and the second-highest overall headcount. India is among SAP’s top 10 markets by revenue and its fastest-growing one, Klein said.

“We will over proportionally hire here [India] versus all the other labs,” Klein, who was in the southern Indian city of Bengaluru along with the company’s executive and supervisory boards, told reporters.

Klein said a majority of future investments into research and development (R&D) and customer success will go to India, but did not divulge specifics on hiring numbers or time lines.

SAP is building a second office in Bengaluru, with an additional capacity of 15,000 people.

Klein said SAP’s main team for its artificial intelligence (AI) strategy is located in India, with more leaders heading development teams based out of the country.

This shift underscores a broader trend in the future of work where global tech talent hubs are diversifying beyond traditional locations, like Europe and North America, to rapidly growing markets such as India. 

Addressing concerns regarding job losses due to generative AI (GenAI), Klein said SAP will continue to hire as long as the business is growing.

“As your business is growing 30% each year, you will also need more developers, not proportionally, under proportionally, but we have a growing business.”

By prioritizing investments and hiring in India, SAP is tapping into a vast, skilled workforce and positioning itself at the forefront of AI and software development. 

As more global companies recognize the advantages of talent in emerging markets, we can expect continued shifts in where critical R&D and leadership teams are based, impacting innovation, local economies, and career opportunities on a global scale.

(Reporting by Emma Ascott, Haripriya Suresh in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D’Souza)