Finnish-German telecom equipment maker Nokia Siemens said on Tuesday that it could reduce its 64,000-strong workforce by seven to nine percent, or by 4,500 to 5,800 jobs, in a cost-cutting drive.
The cost-cutting is to "improve financial performance and return to growth" by reducing 500 million euros (732 million dollars) in annualised operating expenses and production overheads by 2011, the company said.
"As part of this effort, the company will also conduct a global personnel review which may lead to headcount reductions in the range of about 7-9 percent of its current approximately 64,000 employees," it added.
Nokia, the world's biggest mobile phone maker, last month reported its first quarterly loss in a decade partly due to a 908-million-euro impairment charge for goodwill in the Nokia Siemens joint venture.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
NRIs
HSBC bank says it will cut 1,700 jobs in Britain
HSBC is to cut more than 1,700 jobs across Britain, a spokesman for the global banking group said on Tuesday.
HSBC will axe "just over 1,700" jobs, a spokesman told media, confirming media reports. An official statement from HSBC explaining the cuts was due later Tuesday.
The announcement came as the British government unveiled a major shake-up of the country's banking sector and one day after state-controlled Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) said it would eliminate about 3,700 jobs across its British retail operations.
The government on Tuesday said it would force RBS and another state-controlled bank, Lloyds Banking Group, to sell assets to promote competition but would support them with 30 billion pounds (33 billion euros, 49 billion dollars).
Britain's government expects new banks to be born as a result of the break-ups, which are the result of pressure from EU competition authorities.
The parts being separated from the parent groups add up to about 10 percent of Britain's troubled retail banking market.
In return for more state aid, RBS and Lloyds will have to cut bonuses paid to top staff and increase lending to recession-struck businesses and individuals.
Lloyds meanwhile announced that it would launch a record 13.5-billion-pound rights issue, the biggest-ever sale in Britain of new shares to existing shareholders.
Tuesday's announcements come one week after the European Commission approved the state aid in plans to break up and sell Britain's nationalised bank Northern Rock.
HSBC will axe "just over 1,700" jobs, a spokesman told media, confirming media reports. An official statement from HSBC explaining the cuts was due later Tuesday.
The announcement came as the British government unveiled a major shake-up of the country's banking sector and one day after state-controlled Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) said it would eliminate about 3,700 jobs across its British retail operations.
The government on Tuesday said it would force RBS and another state-controlled bank, Lloyds Banking Group, to sell assets to promote competition but would support them with 30 billion pounds (33 billion euros, 49 billion dollars).
Britain's government expects new banks to be born as a result of the break-ups, which are the result of pressure from EU competition authorities.
The parts being separated from the parent groups add up to about 10 percent of Britain's troubled retail banking market.
In return for more state aid, RBS and Lloyds will have to cut bonuses paid to top staff and increase lending to recession-struck businesses and individuals.
Lloyds meanwhile announced that it would launch a record 13.5-billion-pound rights issue, the biggest-ever sale in Britain of new shares to existing shareholders.
Tuesday's announcements come one week after the European Commission approved the state aid in plans to break up and sell Britain's nationalised bank Northern Rock.
new openings
Apple hires 2,300 full-time employees in a year
Technology major Apple has raised its full-time employee count by 2,300 to 34,300 for the year ended September 2009, at a time when many companies worldwide slashed their workforce in the wake of the financial crisis.
For the September 2009 financial year, the company had nearly 34,300 full-time equivalent employees and 2,500 temporary equivalent workers and contractors, according to its annual report.
The firm had about 32,000 full-time people and 3,100 temporary employees and contractors, for the year ended September 2008.
The total head count at Apple -- including full-time and temporary people and contractors -- shot up to 36,800 for the fiscal year ended September 26, 2009. In the comparable period, the same stood at 35,100.
Interestingly, the year ended September was also the time when companies worldwide slashed thousands of jobs as part of their efforts to bring down costs. The entities which resorted to layoffs include Dell, Microsoft, General Motors and Caterpillar.
Moreover, the unemployment rate in the US touched a 26-year-high of 9.8 per cent in September.
Despite the adverse economic situation, Apple's net sales surged over 12 per cent to $36.5 billion for the year ended September 2009, mainly boosted by increased sales of iPhone and Mac computers. During the same period, profits rose to $5.7 billion.
For the September 2009 financial year, the company had nearly 34,300 full-time equivalent employees and 2,500 temporary equivalent workers and contractors, according to its annual report.
The firm had about 32,000 full-time people and 3,100 temporary employees and contractors, for the year ended September 2008.
The total head count at Apple -- including full-time and temporary people and contractors -- shot up to 36,800 for the fiscal year ended September 26, 2009. In the comparable period, the same stood at 35,100.
Interestingly, the year ended September was also the time when companies worldwide slashed thousands of jobs as part of their efforts to bring down costs. The entities which resorted to layoffs include Dell, Microsoft, General Motors and Caterpillar.
Moreover, the unemployment rate in the US touched a 26-year-high of 9.8 per cent in September.
Despite the adverse economic situation, Apple's net sales surged over 12 per cent to $36.5 billion for the year ended September 2009, mainly boosted by increased sales of iPhone and Mac computers. During the same period, profits rose to $5.7 billion.
IT market, new openings
Capgemini to expand India headcount
Outsourcing firm Capgemini is all set to increase its India headcount with the opening of a new business information centre in Bangalore, according to a report in a business daily.
The Bangalore centre will take the company's India headcount beyond 21,000, an increase from its employee strength of 20,000 in home country France.
According to the company, the new centre in Bangalore would start with a workforce of 1,000, which would scale up to 3,000 in about 18 months.
Paul Nannetti, general manager of Capgemini's global business information service line, said, "Bangalore provides plenty of application and technical skills in information management." He added, "The company can scale-up there much more quickly than in onshore locations."
India is among the most attractive outsourcing destination for global MNCs including IBM, Accenture and Microsoft, giving tough competition to domestic players TCS, Wipro and Infosys. The country offers large pool of skilled and low-cost talent for business information management services that help companies improve their collection, use and analysis of data.
The Bangalore centre will take the company's India headcount beyond 21,000, an increase from its employee strength of 20,000 in home country France.
According to the company, the new centre in Bangalore would start with a workforce of 1,000, which would scale up to 3,000 in about 18 months.
Paul Nannetti, general manager of Capgemini's global business information service line, said, "Bangalore provides plenty of application and technical skills in information management." He added, "The company can scale-up there much more quickly than in onshore locations."
India is among the most attractive outsourcing destination for global MNCs including IBM, Accenture and Microsoft, giving tough competition to domestic players TCS, Wipro and Infosys. The country offers large pool of skilled and low-cost talent for business information management services that help companies improve their collection, use and analysis of data.
New Deals, Outsourcing, TCS
TCS bags multi-million Cardiff deal
India's Tata Consultancy Services' contract with Cardiff City Council for technology services is a multi-million dollar deal that will run over 15 years, a company source said on Tuesday.
Under the deal signed last week, Tata Consultancy will provide a host of IT services for faster and efficient delivery of services in Cardiff.
Tata Consultancy and its rivals such as Infosys Technologies and Wipro are aggressively vying for deals in markets such as Europe and Asia Pacific to cut their dependence on the US, which brings in more than half the sector's revenue.
According to Ovum's Straight Talk service, the deal is reportedly worth £150 million, spanning 15-years.
Under the deal, TCS will help drive the council's mission-critical Strategic Transformational Change Programme.
Tata Consultancy, a part of the diversified Tata Group that spans commodities autos and services businesses, last month beat forecasts with a 29 percent rise in quarterly net profit helped by demand from recession-hit financial customers.
Under the deal signed last week, Tata Consultancy will provide a host of IT services for faster and efficient delivery of services in Cardiff.
Tata Consultancy and its rivals such as Infosys Technologies and Wipro are aggressively vying for deals in markets such as Europe and Asia Pacific to cut their dependence on the US, which brings in more than half the sector's revenue.
According to Ovum's Straight Talk service, the deal is reportedly worth £150 million, spanning 15-years.
Under the deal, TCS will help drive the council's mission-critical Strategic Transformational Change Programme.
Tata Consultancy, a part of the diversified Tata Group that spans commodities autos and services businesses, last month beat forecasts with a 29 percent rise in quarterly net profit helped by demand from recession-hit financial customers.
IT market, Recession
IT spending won't fully recover: Microsoft CEO
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said that corporate spending on information technology (IT) will not recover to levels seen in recent years before the global economic slowdown.
"The economy went thru a set of changes on a global basis over the course of the last year which are, I think is fair to say, once in a lifetime," said Ballmer.
Spending on information technology, which accounted for about half of capital expenditures in developed countries before the crisis, was unlikely to rebound fully because capital was scarcer these days, he said.
"While we will see growth, we will not see recovery," he said. Ballmer was in Seoul to tout Microsoft's new Windows 7 operating system. The latest edition of Windows, the software that runs personal computers, was released last month.
He said company purchases of PCs and servers were down about 15 per cent globally.
"It reflects the fact that CEOs have much more tightly constrained IT budgets," he added.
"The economy went thru a set of changes on a global basis over the course of the last year which are, I think is fair to say, once in a lifetime," said Ballmer.
Spending on information technology, which accounted for about half of capital expenditures in developed countries before the crisis, was unlikely to rebound fully because capital was scarcer these days, he said.
"While we will see growth, we will not see recovery," he said. Ballmer was in Seoul to tout Microsoft's new Windows 7 operating system. The latest edition of Windows, the software that runs personal computers, was released last month.
He said company purchases of PCs and servers were down about 15 per cent globally.
"It reflects the fact that CEOs have much more tightly constrained IT budgets," he added.
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