Infosys eyes IT, BPO arms of European companies

Infosys is looking to acquire technology and back-office services arms of European companies as they open up to the idea of outsourcing such work with an eye on cutting costs. The deals that Infosys is chasing could give it committed business worth $40- $250 million (Rs 240 crore-Rs 1,500 crore) over three to five years, the Europe head of India's second-largest software firm said. Such transactions typically involve upfront payment for buying the facilities of corporations as well as taking over their employees.

"There are quite a few opportunities we are participating in. For clients, it is about cost-optimisation but at the same time they don't want employees to be impacted," said InfosysBSE -0.01 % board member BG Srinivas, who also heads the financial services business division. "We are open to rebadging employees because we are continuing to invest in Europe."

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/ites/euro-trail-infosys-eyes-it-bpo-arms-of-european-companies/articleshow/21076918.cms

Wipro BPO win Best Project with Organizational Impact Award

Wipro  Ltd., a leading Global Information Technology, Consulting and Outsourcing company announced that the American Society for Quality (ASQ) has recognized Wipro BPO for a Six Sigma Project implemented for a customer. The project was recognized by ASQ and voted on by attendees of the 2013 World Conference on Quality and Improvement as Best Project with 'Organizational Impact' at the International Team Excellence Awards, Indianapolis, USA.

The awards recognize and commend the impact of quality on customer relationships. The finalists of the "International Team Excellence Awards" comprised of 32 teams from across the world and global organizations spanning industries including Automobiles, Manufacturing, Pharmaceuticals, Financial Services & Insurance, Telecom, Military, Energy, Housing and ITeS.

HCL Technologies may lay off over 100 employees in Finland

Noida-based HCL Technologies may lay off some employees in Finland. These employees are among those who were servicing phone maker Nokia from its on-shore centres.

The company had entered into a long-term agreement with the Finnish mobile phone manufacturer for a global IT infrastructure management outsourcing services in January.

“There could be some lay offs. We will take around six weeks to decide and comply with all the formalities under the European law,” a HCL Technology official told Business Line on request of anonymity.

An official statement from the company said “Any change to requirements in client projects is essentially a matter of discussion between HCL, its client(s) and unions where needed. We do not respond to speculation on such matters.”

According to sources, the lay off numbers may be little more than 100. The company did not give the total number of employees working across Finland.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) was also part of the service agreement with Nokia. This was part of the phone maker’s plans to cut over 1,000 IT jobs, including 820 employees who were transferred to HCL and TCS. Earlier this month, TCS had said it may lay off around 290 employees working for Nokia.

Source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/info-tech/hcl-technologies-may-lay-off-over-100-employees-in-finland/article4860732.ece?ref=wl_industry-and-economy

NAB culling IT jobs: Australia

NATIONAL Australia Bank has been urged to be more transparent with redundancy figures amongst technology workers with unions confirming more than 90 jobs have been affected.

The Australian yesterday reported that NAB staff sources and management were at odds with the number of technology roles impacted by a move to outsource IT testing to Infosys.

NAB said 26 people have been made redundant but some affected staff say it's about 95 workers.

The cuts have affected all parts of the group, including its wealth management arm MLC.

Finance Sector Union national assistant secretary Geoff Derrick said: "we have heard from our members that their work is being outsourced (to Infosys) and probably offshored".

Mr Derrick said more than 90 people are affected but "not all in one go", a view shared by affected employees who spoke to The Australian.

NAB workers have been conducting "knowledge transfer" sessions with Infosys and they would be let go once that was completed, he said.

Mr Derrick said the union was having difficulty getting a straight answer from NAB on whether local jobs would be sent overseas.

Telstra to outsource 170 jobs to Infosys

Telstra will outsource the roles of 170 full-time staff and 90 contractors from one of its fastest-growing business units to India, with Indian supplier ­Infosys understood to be picking up the work.

The redundancies from Telstra’s network applications and services division announced on Tuesday are the latest in a series of staff cuts at the telecommunications giant. In May, it indicated plans to overhaul its 15,000-strong internal operations divisions.

The NAS division, which generated $636 million in revenues in the half-year ending December 31, 2012, sells services such as cloud computing and video conferencing. It is Telstra’s fastest-growing segment with plans to increase the business in Asia.

Source: BRW

Rise in H-1B must for US economy: 100 IT CEOs

More than 100 top American CEOs from technology sector, including those from Facebook, Google and Microsoft, have appealed to the Senate to approve the comprehensive immigration bill, which they said will open a new path to the country's innovation and economic strength.

In a letter to all members of the Senate, the CEOs said they strongly believe the reforms in the bill, that impact high skilled immigration including key improvements in the availability of both green cards and H-1B visas, will help address the national talent shortage in the near-term.

In addition, it will also create a long-term pipeline of American workers through establishing a much-needed new fund for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education, including computer science education, said the letter from more than 100 executives from the technology sector and leading innovation advocacy organisations.

The comprehensive immigration bill (S.744) will also protect and better prepare American workers, and enable employers and entrepreneurs of all sizes in every state to recruit and retain the world's best talent, the letter said.

"Senate approval of S.744 is essential for our economy to continue to foster innovation and invigorate many US business sectors through an educated and highly skilled workforce of domestic and foreign-born talent," it said.

Read More at http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/tech-news/outsourcing/Rise-in-H-1B-must-for-US-economy-100-IT-CEOs/articleshow/20712406.cms