Bangalore: If you thought that only an application for a passport necessitates a verification check, you are wrong. Global outsourcing provider EDS in collaboration with it's Indian subsidiary MphasiS, has decided to go all-out on an employee verification process on candidates who have joined the company before May 2007. Employees who have joined them post 2007 will also be covered if only reference checks have been carried out earlier. The process of verification of educational qualification and past employment records of the employees has been entrusted with a third party agency.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
EDS, MphasiS initiate 'Operation Verify'
Bangalore: If you thought that only an application for a passport necessitates a verification check, you are wrong. Global outsourcing provider EDS in collaboration with it's Indian subsidiary MphasiS, has decided to go all-out on an employee verification process on candidates who have joined the company before May 2007. Employees who have joined them post 2007 will also be covered if only reference checks have been carried out earlier. The process of verification of educational qualification and past employment records of the employees has been entrusted with a third party agency.
IT companies raise referral bonus amid crisis
Source: The Economic Times
US firms such as Deloitte, ADP, Pegasystems and Broadridge in India have hiked the referral bonus for existing employees. This incentive is given to employees who refer people for slots that companies look for.
Even as many multi-national companies are grappling in the downturn, some seem to be on a hiring spree for their Indian subsidiaries to do work that is being out-sourced here. Featuring in this list is consulting firm Deloitte in Hyderabad and Mumbai. The company, which employs over 6,000 people , doubled its referral bonus to employees last week. Existing employees can get Rs 10,000 to Rs 50,000. The company has also increased its campus intake by 20-30 % this year. The spokesperson of Deloitte, however , declined to comment. Click here for complete story.
Infy to offer single-digit salary hikes
IT companies seek staff help to tide over crisis
The 30 skills every IT person should have
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
In meltdown, big IT and BPO deals cheer India
slowdown, two major outsourcing deals in the hospitality and the pharma sectors have been
signed which should bring hope and cheer for the Indian IT and BPO sector.
Cognizant Technology Solutions, which competes with Indian offshore biggies such as TCS, Infosys and Wipro, continues to win new contracts from its existing customers, including
Astrazeneca and Merck, even as the industry prepares to cope with lower information technology spend in top markets of the US and Europe.
The world's premier hotel company, Chicago-based Global Hyatt Corporation, has outsourced part of its financial and accounting transaction services to India's Genpact. The Hyatt agreement is a trend-setting move in the hospitality industry and follows in the footsteps of other
global banking and insurance giants who outsourced a large part of their processes to India's BPO sector to save costs.
In the other major deal, the $30-billion global pharma giant AstraZeneca has outsourced its
end-to-end maintenance services for a variety of corporate services (such as human relations,
finance) to Bangalore-based Infosys. While the values of the two deals have not been disclosed
yet, both envisage increasing the scope of the work over time.
Layoff news in USA - Dec 16th: Update
AMD layoffs loom largeMedia reports indicate that AMD is poised to layoff an additional 10 per cent of its current 15,000 employee workforce.
Layoffs in India - Mid-tier software companies hand out pink slips
However, a cross section HR heads of companies TOI spoke to, flatly denied any move to
retrench people.
"weeding away flab or removing non-performers from their rolls."
staffers across the globe. "In Chennai alone, the poor performers maybe a handful, less than five," he said.
Ramco Systems, a mid-tier company based out Chennai has seen off 142 persons. "Elimination due to poor performance is a natural process. All this while, we had allowed these people to stay
on, but since our Ramco Virtual Works platform - a technology platform, is maturing and since
productivity levels are increasing, we have cut flab. Our annual appraisal happens between
April and July and the bottom 7% of employees have been shown the door," a senior company
official said. Ramco now has 1,800 people on its rolls.
Quintegra, another Chennai-based software solutions company has sent out 20 persons. "We have asked 20 trainees to leave. They were all freshers who were not upto the mark. None of whom we have asked to leave are in the middle or senior management," Shankararaman Vaidyanathan, MD of Quintegra, said.
there was bound to be an effect on employees at the bottom. "It is still a fraction, but the good news is that the industry is getting serious of cutting flab," he said.
filtering is a small portion of their overall strength.
You Won't Get Hired That Way: 5 Common Job Seeking Mistakes
Source: UC Daily News
From newly minted graduate to displaced executive, it's as if we have an inherent human pattern when job-seeking. Unfortunately our instinctive response is not our best response when it comes to finding employment. Like flying an airplane, job seeking turns out to be a counter-intuitive process. Take a look at the five patterns most people follow and why those choices are not their best.
Microsoft Issuing Emergency Patch For IE by Tomorrow
Software firms face uncertain 18 months: NASSCOM
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Layoff news in USA - Dec 15th: Update
SanDisk to Trim More Than 10% of Staff in Q4
Playboy lays off 14% staff; eyes India for expansion
Charles Schwab cutting at least 100 jobs
Layoffs in USA: Even More Tech Layoffs To Come
Monday, December 15, 2008
IT slowdown likely to continue till Q3 of ’09
MUMBAI: The tech slowdown will continue up to the third quarter of 2009, according to global research firm Forrester. IT consulting and systems integration services will hit the wall in 2009, while IT outsourcing growth will remain moderate in 2009 and 2010, getting a small respite from the economic slowdown, it said in its report released on Thursday.
Worst Interview Mistakes Women Make
Soure: Forbes.com
The current economic climate, with fewer jobs and more applicants for each position, requires job seekers to have impeccable interviewing skills. Men and women make many of the same mistakes--arriving late or unprepared, refusing to answer a question, or lying about previous experience. Women, however, can make particular missteps--from talking too much to dressing inappropriately--that hurt their chances or cost them the job. Click here to know Eight Interview Mistakes Women Need to Avoid.
No job cuts in AT&T India, firm to hire more
Bangalore: As a relief to the Indian employees, the 12, 000 job cuts of AT&T (NYSE:T), a communications holding company will have no impact on India, where the current number of employees are more than 1000 people. "The country is completely free from any impact of the job cuts. Infact, there will be more hiring within the region despite the company being in a flux," said Gopi Gopinath, Chairman, CEO, AT&T Global Network Services, India, while announcing the establishment of AT&T's first data center in India.
Yahoo offers severance package with a soft landing
A pink slip for corporate America's newly laid off typically means a severance package and a "see ya." But when Yahoo issued its layoff notices to 10 percent of its workforce on Wednesday, it came with a twist, according to several sources.
Yahoo's 1,520 pink-slipped employees will remain on the payroll through February 13, retaining the ability to continue vesting any options that may come available through that separation date. Vacation accrual, however, will not apply, noted one source.
By the same token, those laid off employees will be "on call" to answer any questions that those who will be taking up the slack may have, to a certain extent anyway.
For those folks who have not landed a job by February 13--which in this recessionary climate may be many--nor bad-mouthed the company, will be entitled to an additional lump sum payment of two, three, or even four more months of severance, sources say.
And on top of that, an additional one month of severance will be awarded for every five years of service at Yahoo, sources note.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Credit Suisse plans to cut down outsourcing to Wipro
1,400 Wipro consultants may affected
MUMBAI: Top Swiss bank Credit Suisse, which announced global layoffs to the tune of 5,300 last week, is significantly reducing work to Wipro, according to sources.
With about 1,400 Wipro consultants currently working with Credit Suisse, the IT company may have to shift many of them to other projects or put them on the bench. More layoffs at Credit Suisse are expected, according to industry and market sources, in the next five days.
Yahoo! India lays off 50 staff
Best time to hire for India Inc: Deloitte
KOLKATA: Even as companies worldwide resort to layoffs or freeze hirings as part of cost-saving measures to counter the economic slowdown, Deloitte Consulting believes the current turbulence actually presents India Inc with its best opportunity to enrol good people in their organisations.
Layoff news in USA - Dec 10th: Update
National Public Radio NPR will let go 64 of its 889 employees, or 7 percent of its workforce on Wednesday
Hutchinson Technologies:
Hutchinson Technologies says it will reduce it's work force by up to 25% (in 575 employees) by the end of January. The firm also plans to cut the wages of remaining employees by 5%.
Yahoo:
Yahoo began laying off 1,500 workers on Wednesday as part of a plan, announced in October, to slash expenses by $400 million a year. The cost cutting, however, may have to go deeper in the coming year. There could be additional staff reductions next year.
Office Depot:
Office Depot to Cut 2,200 Jobs, Close 112 Stores
Franklin Electric:
Franklin Electric has announced plans to cut 200 jobs
Navistar:
Navistar announces 250 white collar job cuts
Downturn hitting semiconductor sector hard. Click here for complete story.
US outsourcing clients seek rate cuts
BANGALORE: US companies like Best Buy, Visa and Conseco have started negotiating rate cuts with their Indian IT outsourcing partners. In what appears to be the first round of renegotiating their outsourcing contracts after a slower economic growth hit their businesses, US firms are seeking rate cuts anywhere in the range of 3-7 %, industry experts in the know of these renegotiations told ETon conditions of anonymity.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Layoffs in USA: Another 15,000 job cuts on Tuesday
Layoff news in USA - Dec 9th: Update
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Yahoo layoffs(apprx 1,430 positions) to come on Wednesday
Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang noted in his post-quarterly earnings e-mail to employees in late October that employees affected by the 10 percent job cut would be "notified of layoffs in the next several weeks" -- that is, before Thanksgiving.
Apparently it took a little longer to wade through the approximately 1,430 positions.
A report in Dow Jones' AllThingsD site notes that the pink slips are expected Wednesday morning and will be across the board.
And while Yang, in the most recent earnings report call, noted that further layoffs could occur in 2009, AllThingsD, citing an anonymous source, said that an additional 500 positions may be cut through attrition and a hiring freeze.
Yahoo's move to cut 10 percent of its workforce puts it in the ranks of a number of other companies that are paring down their staffs, as a means to offset a hit to revenues as the economy tanks.
10 Habits that Bosses Love
1. Communicate, communicate, communicate. Especially at the beginning of your relationship -- that is, when either you or the boss is new to the job -- err on the side of giving your boss too much information and asking too many questions. "There's no such thing as a dumb question," says Marianne Adoradio, a Silicon Valley recruiter and career counselor. "Look at it as information gathering."Don't keep up the constant stream of communication unless your boss likes it, though. It's best to ask directly whether you're giving the boss enough information or too much.
2. Acknowledge what the boss says. Bosses appreciate "responsive listening," says John Farner, principal of Russell Employee Management Consulting. When your boss asks you to do something or suggests ways for you to improve your work, let her know you heard.
3. Collaborate. When your boss has a new idea, respond to it in a constructive way instead of throwing up roadblocks. "Be willing to brainstorm ways to get something done," says Michael Beasley, principal of Career-Crossings and a leadership and career development coach.
4. Build relationships. You'll make your boss look good if you establish a good rapport with your department's customers, whether they're inside the company or outside. Bring back what you learn -- about ways to offer better customer service, for example -- to your boss. This is also helpful for your own career development. "Everybody wins in the long run," Adoradio says.
5. Understand how you fit in. Is your boss detail-oriented, or someone who keeps his head in the clouds? "The boss's personality is just incredibly important," says Norm Meshriy, a career counselor and principal of Career Insights.Equally important is understanding what your boss wants in an employee. It may be, for example, that a boss who is detail-oriented will expect his employees to be as well. But a boss who has no time for details may actually appreciate an employee who does.
6. Learn the boss's pet peeves. If your manager has said repeatedly that she hates being interrupted first thing in the morning, don't run to her office to give her a project update when you first get in.
7. Anticipate the boss's needs. Once you have worked with your boss for a while, you should be able to guess what information he will want before approving your purchase order, for example.If you provide it ahead of time, "that's a gold star," Farner adds.
8. Think one level up. You still need to do your own job, of course. But when managers consider who deserves a promotion, they look for people who understand the issues that their bosses face.
9. Open yourself to new ways of doing things. When your boss comes to you with a new idea, don't simply dismiss it. If you don't think it will work, offer to discuss it further in "a mature, responsible, adult-like way," Beasley says.<
10. Be engaged in your work. Arguing with your boss over every request is not a good strategy, but neither is simply shrugging your shoulders and agreeing with everything your boss says. "The manager would like to see an engaged individual," Beasley says. That means both showing enthusiasm for your work and speaking up when you see room for improvement.
Layoff news in USA - Dec 8th: Update
Netflix cuts 50 tech jobs; streaming issues linger
Web video-rental store Netflix has laid off 50 technical specialists, the people who typically do most of the trouble-shooting for customers with tech issues, such as struggling to connect the service to their laptop or set-top boxes.
Steve Swasey, a Netflix spokesman, said 15 of the company's 65 technical specialists will join the 300-person Customer Service group. According to Swasey, Netflix also plans to add 50 more people to its customer service unit sometime after the New Year.
Netflix cuts jobs, points finger at Silverlight
Netflix is trimming 50 jobs because of Microsoft Silverlight. At least that's what the company claims in a blog post on its website, citing significantly improved streaming video performance on the Silverlight platform as the reason it needs to cut 50 technical customer service positions. Silverlight was the platform for all Netflix streaming, after the company announced Mac compatibility in late October.
The layoffs will be enacted in January after the rush of holiday customer service traffic. The company expressed remorse about the layoffs, but said that Silverlight is simply too good, and the terminated employees simply didn't have enough to do anymore.
Monday, December 8, 2008
BPOs may lose 2.5 lakh jobs in India by first quarter of 2009
Business Process Outsourcing firms are likely to see 2.5 lakh job losses by the first quarter of 2009 in the wake of downturn in the US and other developed economies, BPO industry association said.
Though the industry is likely to see thousands of job losses, the silver lining is that the recession would compel more companies in the US and Europe to look at outsourcing as a way to cut costs and improve efficiencies, the Business Process Industry Association of India (BPIAI) President Samir Chopra said. Click here for complete story.
Slowdown to benefit BPO industry:
Layoff news in USA - Dec 6th and 7th: Update
Layoff news in USA - Dec 6th and 7th
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Layoffs in India: list from different sources
Layoffs at Ramco Systems Ltd in June 2008
Number of Employees: 800
Percentage of Employees: 50
Level: All
Department: All
Notice Period Offered: No
Severance Package Offered: No
Layoffs at Pitney Bowes Mapinfo Pvt Ltd in August 2008
Number of Employees: 25
Percentage of Employees: 12%
Level: All
Department: IT & Developement
Notice Period Offered: NIL
Severance Package Offered: NIL
Layoffs at Integral in 2008
Number of Employees: 100
Percentage of Employees: 75
Notice Period Offered: 0
Severance Package Offered: 2 months
Layoffs at LinkedIn in November 2008
Mountain Views,
Number of Employees: 36
Percentage of Employees: 10
Source: Techcrunch
Source Link: http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/11/05/linkedin-cuts-10-of-staff/
Layoffs at Edelweiss Capital in November 2008
Pan
Number of Employees: 300
Percentage of Employees: 25
Level: All Levels
Department: Mutual Fund, Asset Management, Wealth Management, Private Client
Notice Period Offered: 1 Month
Severance Package Offered: Nil
Source: Self
Layoffs at Indiabulls in August 2008
Number of Employees: 100
Percentage of Employees: 75
Level: Senior + Middle Management
Department: Retail Function
Notice Period Offered: nil
Severance Package Offered: nil
Source:
Layoffs at Tanla in
Layoffs at Goldman Sachs in November 2008
Number of Employees: NA
Percentage of Employees: supposedly 10%
Level: Basic level
Department: All
Notice Period Offered: amount paid in lieu of notice period
Source: self
Source Link:
Layoffs at Aquest Systmes in November 2008
Number of Employees: 27
Percentage of Employees: 100%
Level: All Employees
Department: All company
Notice Period Offered: 0
Severance Package Offered: 0
Source: Self
Layoffs at Adventity Global Services in November 2008
thane,
Number of Employees: 45
Percentage of Employees: 50%
Level: 50% fresher from top universities
Department: retail analytics
Notice Period Offered: 0
Severance Package Offered: 0
Source: Employee