Bridgewater, N.J., custom application developer Mantra Information Services will bring a number of the company’s tech jobs back to the U.S. through what it calls a “reshoring” effort. While the company wouldn’t disclose the number of jobs it would create here, its development center in India – which it shut down in October – employed 45 people. CTO Maulik Shah told Dice News that the company is in the process of hiring for a number of positions, including UI/UX designers and software developers. The majority will be based in Bridgewater, though some will work from domestic satellite offices. Mantra cited rising employment costs, employee retention issues, time zone differences and low productivity abroad as the main reasons for the company’s decision. “Everyone tends to think that offshore software development is cheaper because they only compare labor costs,” said Shah. “But when you add costs associated with the management overhead and productivity differences, cost savings vanish or become negligible.” Mantra started offshoring software work in 2009, spurred by rising demand for low-cost development. “The U.S. market is extremely competitive and every business wants [the] quickest time to market with top notch quality,” Shah observes. “[That’s] only possible when you have project teams with up-to-date technical skills and in similar time zones with the ability to have face-to-face meetings when required.”