Japan’s Toshiba Corp. said that it would cut 4,500 jobs and slash investment as the global economic slowdown pushes the company into the red this year.
The electronics and engineering giant said the financial crisis was badly hitting demand for its semiconductors and flat-screen televisions.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Friday, January 30, 2009
Layoffs in USA
Thursday job cuts could exceed 13,000
The onslaught of job losses continued Thursday as employers announced a toll that could exceed 13,000.
Drugmaker AstraZeneca, photo products maker Eastman Kodak, aircraft company Cessna, truck maker Oshkosh, retailer Bon-Ton Stores and investment services provider Charles Schwab each said they would reduce payrolls.
Their workers were just the latest casualties in a savage week for the job market, with more than 15,000 cuts announced on Wednesday, 11,500 on Tuesday, and more than 71,000 on Monday.
Those jobs join the 2.6 million that the nation's economy lost last year. The companies typically blame the recession for their downsizing.
Drugmaker AstraZeneca, photo products maker Eastman Kodak, aircraft company Cessna, truck maker Oshkosh, retailer Bon-Ton Stores and investment services provider Charles Schwab each said they would reduce payrolls.
Their workers were just the latest casualties in a savage week for the job market, with more than 15,000 cuts announced on Wednesday, 11,500 on Tuesday, and more than 71,000 on Monday.
Those jobs join the 2.6 million that the nation's economy lost last year. The companies typically blame the recession for their downsizing.
Layoffs in USA
Schwab to chop up to 600 jobs, sees revenue drop
Charles Schwab Corp, the No. 1 U.S. online broker, warned on Thursday that revenues could drop as much as 20 percent this year and said it will cut between 500 and 600 jobs in the current quarter as it copes with low interest rates and a falling stock market.
Cost cutting, Infosys
Infosys to Cut Bonuses, Compensation Packages
Infosys Technologies Ltd., India's second-biggest technology company by sales, warned Wednesday that it will cut employee bonuses and compensation packages in the months ahead as the global financial meltdown squeezes its customers and sales.
Infosys, Layoffs in India
Infosys puts over 5,000 employees under scanner
Infosys Technologies has placed around 5 per cent of its global workforce under the scanner. The move, which is being seen as an offshoot of the global financial meltdown, is expected to affect over 5,000 of the 100,000-plus employees on the company’s rolls.
It is learnt that Infosys, the country’s second-largest information technology services provider, has told its senior managers (project managers, senior and group project managers, delivery managers) to give the lowest performance rating (4 on a scale of 1-4) to the 'underperforming' 5 per cent as a part of the company's consolidated relative ranking (CRR).
Though rock-bottom rankings are not unknown in the company, this is the first time that Infosys has made it mandatory. CRR is decided based on the employee’s appraisals which is done twice a year. "The recommendations have already been submitted this month," a senior project manager working with Infosys told Business Standard on the condition of anonymity.
Infosys Vice-president and Group HR Head Nandita Gurjar said there was no change in the policy but "...the percentage of employees who are given CRR 4 keeps varying every year between 1 per cent and 5 per cent based on their performance."
The company has decided to implement a six-month mentoring programme for such employees after which it will decide their future based on the improvements they have made. As a part of this programme, each affected employee will be asked to work under the supervision of a mentor who is a senior executive.
During this period, the employee will not be given any important assignment, even though he will be allowed to work on the project where he is working at present. If the concerned employee is on bench, he will give all his time for the mentoring programme. During this time, the employee will get full salary as well as the regular allowances.
"While 50 per cent of such employees come back to the system, others get the message and quit voluntarily in most cases," Gurjar said.
It has also been learnt that about 40-50 pre-sale executives, most of who were located in the US, have been asked to quit during the last two months. Most of these people are from consulting background who are in a client-facing role. Gurjar confirmed the move but did not cite the number of people who have been asked to quit. "This is a part of our annual CRR initiative," she said.
It is learnt that Infosys, the country’s second-largest information technology services provider, has told its senior managers (project managers, senior and group project managers, delivery managers) to give the lowest performance rating (4 on a scale of 1-4) to the 'underperforming' 5 per cent as a part of the company's consolidated relative ranking (CRR).
Though rock-bottom rankings are not unknown in the company, this is the first time that Infosys has made it mandatory. CRR is decided based on the employee’s appraisals which is done twice a year. "The recommendations have already been submitted this month," a senior project manager working with Infosys told Business Standard on the condition of anonymity.
Infosys Vice-president and Group HR Head Nandita Gurjar said there was no change in the policy but "...the percentage of employees who are given CRR 4 keeps varying every year between 1 per cent and 5 per cent based on their performance."
The company has decided to implement a six-month mentoring programme for such employees after which it will decide their future based on the improvements they have made. As a part of this programme, each affected employee will be asked to work under the supervision of a mentor who is a senior executive.
During this period, the employee will not be given any important assignment, even though he will be allowed to work on the project where he is working at present. If the concerned employee is on bench, he will give all his time for the mentoring programme. During this time, the employee will get full salary as well as the regular allowances.
"While 50 per cent of such employees come back to the system, others get the message and quit voluntarily in most cases," Gurjar said.
It has also been learnt that about 40-50 pre-sale executives, most of who were located in the US, have been asked to quit during the last two months. Most of these people are from consulting background who are in a client-facing role. Gurjar confirmed the move but did not cite the number of people who have been asked to quit. "This is a part of our annual CRR initiative," she said.
TCS
TCS beats recession, wins new orders
Even as the fear of recession hits IT companies, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) walk away with one order after another. In the last couple of months, TCS has bagged several orders from various international players. To begin, it landed the World Bank order.
This was followed by a contract from the Caterpillar. Soon, the Italian bike maker Ducati Motor Holding made a beeline for TCS.
Today, the Tata company has added yet another to its growing list of clients by getting an order from Phones 4U of the U.K.
Sources say that the international companies are even now looking at low cost countries for their off-shore option. This syndrome will continue even during the recession period. Today, customers do not want to spend more money on the near-shore market, which is customer location. This will be a boon to Indian IT companies. But what will happen if the rules are reversed by the U.S. President Barak Obama? One has to wait and watch. However, TCS seems to be looking at Europe and the U.K. markets in a big way. Will this be an alternative proposition for TCS?
Today, the company has bagged a $100 million agreement to provide a full range of managed IT services to 4UGroup, the holding company of Phones 4U, and other organisations in the U.K. telecommunication and financial services marketplaces.
Under the agreement, TCS will provide a full range of IT and business change services to 4U Group, including service management, application support, maintenance, management and development, data centre and desktop services, helpdesk, networks and communications, business support, and management of all third party contracts for the organisation’s retail operations. This will enable the group to improve IT service, increase capacity, boost skills, create a more flexible IT model and ultimately enhance the business to meet current and future demands.
According to sources, it will be a three-to five-year agreement. Since the retail innovation centre is located in Chennai, it is assumed that the delivery will be from the centres located in Chennai. Similarly, the company has also reportedly bagged another retail order from the U.S.
A. S. Lakshminarayanan, Vice-President and Country Manager, U.K. & Ireland, TCS, said the significant contract win underlined the important role that the company played in enabling the U.K. businesses to enhance their competitiveness and retain market share, especially in the current economic environment.
This was followed by a contract from the Caterpillar. Soon, the Italian bike maker Ducati Motor Holding made a beeline for TCS.
Today, the Tata company has added yet another to its growing list of clients by getting an order from Phones 4U of the U.K.
Sources say that the international companies are even now looking at low cost countries for their off-shore option. This syndrome will continue even during the recession period. Today, customers do not want to spend more money on the near-shore market, which is customer location. This will be a boon to Indian IT companies. But what will happen if the rules are reversed by the U.S. President Barak Obama? One has to wait and watch. However, TCS seems to be looking at Europe and the U.K. markets in a big way. Will this be an alternative proposition for TCS?
Today, the company has bagged a $100 million agreement to provide a full range of managed IT services to 4UGroup, the holding company of Phones 4U, and other organisations in the U.K. telecommunication and financial services marketplaces.
Under the agreement, TCS will provide a full range of IT and business change services to 4U Group, including service management, application support, maintenance, management and development, data centre and desktop services, helpdesk, networks and communications, business support, and management of all third party contracts for the organisation’s retail operations. This will enable the group to improve IT service, increase capacity, boost skills, create a more flexible IT model and ultimately enhance the business to meet current and future demands.
According to sources, it will be a three-to five-year agreement. Since the retail innovation centre is located in Chennai, it is assumed that the delivery will be from the centres located in Chennai. Similarly, the company has also reportedly bagged another retail order from the U.S.
A. S. Lakshminarayanan, Vice-President and Country Manager, U.K. & Ireland, TCS, said the significant contract win underlined the important role that the company played in enabling the U.K. businesses to enhance their competitiveness and retain market share, especially in the current economic environment.
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