An internal report leaked to a US employee union WashTech/CWA dated April 2005 and entitled India 2002 to 2005 charts the company’s headcount in India over the last three years, and projects that the company will take on 14,046 new employees in India in 2005 to reach a total of 38,196. Reports claim IBM has admitted the document is authentic.

Last month IBM said it would cut up to 13,000 employees from its payroll as a result of a shortfall in sales and profits in the first quarter. The cuts are mainly taking place in Europe where the company has begun a major restructuring process.

IBM is the largest Western IT services employer in India, ahead of Accenture which has 12,000. Earlier this year, Capgemini announced its intention to quadruple its headcount in the country to 10,000 as it attempts to turn around its ailing North American business.