India Inc, which is facing the heat from US Presidential candidates who blamed 'shipping jobs' to China and India for rising US unemployment, has launched a counter-offensive in Chicago telling Americans that the industry is creating new work opportunities for them.
A full-page advertisement in the Chicago Tribune on Tuesday, by industry body Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the Commerce Ministry, gives an elaborate account of how the legendary Tata Group, along with several others like Ranbaxy, Mahindra USA, Bharat Forge, ITC Kitchens of India and HCL America have created thousands of jobs in America by investing in different sectors of the US economy.
The Ficci ad insertion in the leading US paper coincided with Barack Obama, who is engaged in a tight race with Hillary Clinton for the Democratic Presidential nomination, making a strong pitch to Ohio's blue-collar workers with a plan to reward American firms that do not ship jobs overseas.
"This is a six-month roll out before the Presidential elections. We will be talking to the US Congressmen and other opinion-makers about the positive impact of the increasing Indian investment in the US," Secretary General of the Ficci Amit Mitra said.
The Tata Group that operates 16 companies in the US -- from luxury hotels and beverage business to manufacturing, telecom and IT consulting -- employs over 5,000 Americans.
Likewise, Ranbaxy is creating jobs and stimulating the economy in North Carolina, New Jersey and Florida, Ficci said. "Where is the job loss? We are creating jobs for them," Washington-based Ranjan V Khanna, who heads the chamber in the US said.