Automation has slowed down the number of people being recruited at Infosys, CEO and MD Vishal Sikka said on Friday.

“One of the effects of automation is that it has slowed down the number of people we have added. We have hired about 5,700 people in the first nine months of this fiscal year, compared with more than 17,000 staff in the first nine months of the last year,” Sikka said.

Sikka also said that the company expects to increase in the size, but the rate of increase will slow down.

“Automation is one of the key drivers of our strategy,” Sikka said, adding that he is happy with the company’s progress on that front.

As a part of automation, the company is also focusing more on fixed price revenue, than the time and materials revenue.

“We are working on this in a focused way, and we have a clear focus on increasing our fixed price presence. The reason behind this is once it is a fixed price project, then our opportunity to bring automation led innovation becomes little easier,” Sikka added.

The company is also expecting some changes to the visa policies, post Donald Trump taking over as the US President. “We expect some changes in the visa policies, but the administration starts next week. It is too early to say. Depending on the nature of the policies, we will have to address them,” Sikka said.