Business process outsourcing major 24/7 Customer has said it plans to hire over 4,000 people during this year to take its total employee strength to 7,000 and invest $15 million in its facilities across the country.

"We plan to close the year with 7,000 employees and have our own five acre campus in Bangalore," 24/7 Customer Co-founder and CEO P V Kannan told reporters at the inauguration of its new contact centre in the city.

Kannan said the firm would invest $6 million in its Bangalore operations of the total $15 million capital expenditure.

24/7 Customer, he said, plans to expand overseas and set up a BPO facility probably in Eastern Europe.

The firm which recently set up its 700-seater facility at Hyderabad received $22 million in venture capital funding from Sequoia Capital Fund in June 2003 for further expansion and growth.