Forward by Srilaxmi
Facing the heat of economic slowdown, the Jet Airways management was on Sunday understood to have suggested a five to ten per cent salary
cut for its employees drawing monthly salary above Rs 75,000 and a voluntary retirement scheme for older staff.
A meeting of the management, presided by Jet Chairman Naresh Goyal at a five-star hotel here, has decided to have a graded salary structure for all employees but kept a threshold for it saying those drawing Rs 75,000 per month would not face any cut in their salary, sources said.
The graded structure would be applicable to those getting above Rs 75,000 per month, they said.
The management is also understood to have set up a committee to study the graded structure.
However, the management was unable to convince its domestic pilots to accept salary cuts ranging from 10 to 20 per cent, sources said.
The airlines management is understood to have suggested a ten per cent slash in pay packets of junior pilots and a 20 per cent cut for senior pilots.
But the pilots suggested that Airlines should do away with the expatriate pilots as they were a “huge burden” on the airlines because of their high salary packages,” a source close to the development told PTI.
The Airlines has currently 1,000 pilots with 200 expat pilots.
A proposal was also mooted to provide Voluntary Retirement Service (VRS) to some of the older employees to cut cost, the source said.
“However, Goyal did not accept the proposal, saying the Airlines did not have money to offer such a package,” the source said.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Thursday, November 20, 2008
November Layoff Stats! - American 86,795
Forward by Ramana
Nov. 17: Citigroup raises the interest rates on its credit cards and cuts 53,000 jobs.
Nov. 14: Computer network builder Sun Microsystems hopes to save $800 million a year with a 6,000-person reduction in workforce.
Nov. 13: United States Steel pink-slips 675 workers (2% of its staff). Stock down 80% from July to November.
Nov. 12: Las Vegas Sands is putting several billion-dollar Macau-based projects on hold. As many as 11,000 workers will be laid off.
Nov. 12: Morgan Stanley announces 2,000 job cuts. This includes a 10% cut in the company’s institutional securities group and a 9% cut in its asset-management group.
Nov. 12: Liberty Media’s home shopping channel QVC announces a 910-worker layoff.
Nov. 12: Cessna Aircraft, a subsidiary of conglomerate Textron , fires 665.
Nov. 10: General Motors lays off 1,900 employees from its powertrain and stamping division. An additional 3,600 assembly employees were already getting pink-slipped.
Nov. 7: Ford Motor cuts 2,600 hourly employees in the U.S.
Nov. 6: Toy producer Mattel announces 1,000 job cuts globally in preparation for a tough holiday season.
Nov. 6: Five-year-old Atlantic City establishment the Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa–a joint venture between Boyd Gaming and MGM Mirage –sacks 400 employees.
Nov. 17: Citigroup raises the interest rates on its credit cards and cuts 53,000 jobs.
Nov. 14: Computer network builder Sun Microsystems hopes to save $800 million a year with a 6,000-person reduction in workforce.
Nov. 13: United States Steel pink-slips 675 workers (2% of its staff). Stock down 80% from July to November.
Nov. 12: Las Vegas Sands is putting several billion-dollar Macau-based projects on hold. As many as 11,000 workers will be laid off.
Nov. 12: Morgan Stanley announces 2,000 job cuts. This includes a 10% cut in the company’s institutional securities group and a 9% cut in its asset-management group.
Nov. 12: Liberty Media’s home shopping channel QVC announces a 910-worker layoff.
Nov. 12: Cessna Aircraft, a subsidiary of conglomerate Textron , fires 665.
Nov. 10: General Motors lays off 1,900 employees from its powertrain and stamping division. An additional 3,600 assembly employees were already getting pink-slipped.
Nov. 7: Ford Motor cuts 2,600 hourly employees in the U.S.
Nov. 6: Toy producer Mattel announces 1,000 job cuts globally in preparation for a tough holiday season.
Nov. 6: Five-year-old Atlantic City establishment the Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa–a joint venture between Boyd Gaming and MGM Mirage –sacks 400 employees.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Citigroup set to cut 75,000 jobs
Forward by Soni
US bank Citigroup has announced plans for about 53,000 new job cuts, on top of a previously announced 22,000.
Citigroup said the 75,000 job cuts represented a reduction of about 20% of its staff, leaving it with 300,000 jobs worldwide “in the near term”.
The cuts will come from redundancies, the sale of units and natural wastage, the bank said.
Citigroup has lost more than $20bn (£13.6bn) in the past year because of the global financial crisis.
It has posted four straight quarterly losses and some analysts believe the bank will not make a profit again until 2010.
Turnaround plan
Certainly [the job cuts] will fall particularly heavily on London and New York
Win Bischoff, Citigroup chairman
“Underlying business remains strong and revenues have been stable,” the bank said.
Citigroup also said its capital position was “very strong”.
The bank expects its expenses to be down 20% from peak levels, to about $50bn in 2009, after the job cuts have taken effect.
“Certainly [the job cuts] will fall particularly heavily on London and New York,” Citigroup chairman Win Bischoff said at a business forum in Dubai.
Citigroup’s chief executive Vikram Pandit has come under pressure from critics who have doubted his ability to turn around the company and weather the financial crisis.
Shares in Citigroup dropped 4.4% to $9.10 in early trading. They are down almost 70% this year.
Citigroup, one of the largest US banks, is one of nine financial institutions benefiting from the US government’s bail-out programme.
The Treasury announced last month that it would be providing cash injections worth $125bn to be shared between Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, Bank of New York Mellon, State Street and Merrill Lynch.
US bank Citigroup has announced plans for about 53,000 new job cuts, on top of a previously announced 22,000.
Citigroup said the 75,000 job cuts represented a reduction of about 20% of its staff, leaving it with 300,000 jobs worldwide “in the near term”.
The cuts will come from redundancies, the sale of units and natural wastage, the bank said.
Citigroup has lost more than $20bn (£13.6bn) in the past year because of the global financial crisis.
It has posted four straight quarterly losses and some analysts believe the bank will not make a profit again until 2010.
Turnaround plan
Certainly [the job cuts] will fall particularly heavily on London and New York
Win Bischoff, Citigroup chairman
“Underlying business remains strong and revenues have been stable,” the bank said.
Citigroup also said its capital position was “very strong”.
The bank expects its expenses to be down 20% from peak levels, to about $50bn in 2009, after the job cuts have taken effect.
“Certainly [the job cuts] will fall particularly heavily on London and New York,” Citigroup chairman Win Bischoff said at a business forum in Dubai.
Citigroup’s chief executive Vikram Pandit has come under pressure from critics who have doubted his ability to turn around the company and weather the financial crisis.
Shares in Citigroup dropped 4.4% to $9.10 in early trading. They are down almost 70% this year.
Citigroup, one of the largest US banks, is one of nine financial institutions benefiting from the US government’s bail-out programme.
The Treasury announced last month that it would be providing cash injections worth $125bn to be shared between Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, Bank of New York Mellon, State Street and Merrill Lynch.
Monday, November 17, 2008
News: Sun Microsystems to cut 6,000 jobs
Forwarded by venkat
Sun Microsystems Inc plans to cut as many as 6,000 jobs as the company tries to cope with plunging sales of server computers to financ
ial firms, market-share losses to bigger competitors, and a spiraling stock price.
The reduction, which will eliminate as much as 18 per cent of the staff, will shave $700 million to $800 million from annual expenses, Sun said in an e-mailed statement. The moves will cost as much as $600 million in the next 12 months.
The Santa Clara, California-based company is cutting back in response to “global economic realities,” Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Schwartz said. Sun, the fourth-largest server maker, last month posted its second loss in three quarters and said its financial-services customers were curbing orders until they have more liquidity.
“We see the level of concern spreading around the world,” Schwartz said in a telephone interview. “Customers are saying, `I am in pain, and I need budget relief.”’
He sees that as a chance to spread adoption of Sun’s MySQL open-source database applications and Java programming language, which are free. Sun sells servers and service contracts with the software. To take advantage of the opportunity, Sun said it will reorganise its software business. Rich Green, executive vice president for software, will leave.
Sun, down 77 per cent this year before today, rose 4 cents to $4.12 at 4 pm on the Nasdaq Stock Market. A high-flier in the dot-com era — Sun traded at $257.25 in September 2000 — the stock has been under $5 for two weeks.
Valley hurting
Sun is the third company in Santa Clara, at the heart of California’s Silicon Valley, to cut jobs this week as technology companies cope with the worst sales slump since the dot-com bubble burst in 2000. Applied Materials Inc, the largest maker of chip-production machinery, announced plans to cut 1,800 jobs, and mobile-phone chip builder National Semiconductor Corp said it will shed about 5 per cent of its staff.
The Sun job cuts will take place worldwide, with most of the US positions eliminated in the third fiscal quarter, spokeswoman Kristi Rawlinson
said. The company had about 33,000 employees at the end of September.
Schwartz has spent two years overhauling Sun, which posted five years of losses under former CEO Scott McNealy. The company continues to lose market share in servers, the computers that run corporate networks and account for almost half of revenue. Last quarter Sun had a $1.45 billion expense to write down the value of acquisitions.
No leadership change
“There might be a little disappointment today, not in the numbers, but in that you didn’t get a change in leadership announced along with those job cuts,” said Brent Bracelin, an analyst at Pacific Crest Securities in Portland, Oregon.
Five analysts recommend selling Sun shares, four suggest buying them, and 12, including Bracelin, have “hold” ratings, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Southeastern Asset Management, based in Memphis, Tennessee, increased its stake to 21 percent of Sun’s outstanding stock last month and said it intended to be more active in corporate governance and management. Relational Investors LLC, run by activist investor Ralph Whitworth, disclosed that it held 5.88 million Sun shares as of June 30.
KKR investment
In January 2007, an investment fund owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co bought $700 million of Sun’s convertible notes. James H Greene Jr, a KKR general partner, has been on Sun’s board since January of this year.
“Sun’s actions announced today, while very difficult for employees, bring the company’s cost structure more in line with its revenue,” Greene
said in a statement released by Sun. “Based on Sun’s enhanced product portfolio, including a broad open-source offering, we have encouraged them to pursue a more focused strategy that builds upon these strengths.”
Worldwide technology spending in 2009 will grow less than predicted, research firm IDC said this week, and computer-related companies are trimming forecasts. Intel Corp slashed $1 billion from its fourth-quarter sales goal two days ago.
Spending industrywide will rise 2.6 per cent next year, down from an estimate of 5.9 per cent, Framingham, Massachusetts-based IDC said. Growth in the US will probably slow to 0.9 per cent, less than a quarter the pace IDC forecast in August.
Dire situation
Sales at Sun fell 11 per cent to $1.76 billion in the period ended Sept 28. Server revenue declined 15 per cent, and dropped in every region except for emerging markets.
Sun trails International Business Machines Corp, Hewlett- Packard Co and Dell Inc in servers. In the calendar second quarter, Sun’s share of the $13.8 billion market dropped to 11.8 per cent from 13.4 per cent a year earlier, according to Stamford, Connecticut-based research firm Gartner Inc Sun’s revenue fell in the period, while IBM, Dell and Hewlett-Packard all gained.
The company is struggling to sell its highest-priced servers and many of its recent orders have been for low-end systems, according to Dan Olds, a Gabriel Consulting Group analyst in Beaverton, Oregon.
Louis Miscioscia, a Boston-based analyst at Cowen & Co, said results have been disappointing for seven straight quarters. He compared Sun to a comatose patient.
“You’re hooked up to the machine, everything’s going to keep working because your body is still there, but are you ever going to see that comeback?” he said. “You might be around for 40 more years before you die. That’s the situation.”
Sun Microsystems Inc plans to cut as many as 6,000 jobs as the company tries to cope with plunging sales of server computers to financ
ial firms, market-share losses to bigger competitors, and a spiraling stock price.
The reduction, which will eliminate as much as 18 per cent of the staff, will shave $700 million to $800 million from annual expenses, Sun said in an e-mailed statement. The moves will cost as much as $600 million in the next 12 months.
The Santa Clara, California-based company is cutting back in response to “global economic realities,” Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Schwartz said. Sun, the fourth-largest server maker, last month posted its second loss in three quarters and said its financial-services customers were curbing orders until they have more liquidity.
“We see the level of concern spreading around the world,” Schwartz said in a telephone interview. “Customers are saying, `I am in pain, and I need budget relief.”’
He sees that as a chance to spread adoption of Sun’s MySQL open-source database applications and Java programming language, which are free. Sun sells servers and service contracts with the software. To take advantage of the opportunity, Sun said it will reorganise its software business. Rich Green, executive vice president for software, will leave.
Sun, down 77 per cent this year before today, rose 4 cents to $4.12 at 4 pm on the Nasdaq Stock Market. A high-flier in the dot-com era — Sun traded at $257.25 in September 2000 — the stock has been under $5 for two weeks.
Valley hurting
Sun is the third company in Santa Clara, at the heart of California’s Silicon Valley, to cut jobs this week as technology companies cope with the worst sales slump since the dot-com bubble burst in 2000. Applied Materials Inc, the largest maker of chip-production machinery, announced plans to cut 1,800 jobs, and mobile-phone chip builder National Semiconductor Corp said it will shed about 5 per cent of its staff.
The Sun job cuts will take place worldwide, with most of the US positions eliminated in the third fiscal quarter, spokeswoman Kristi Rawlinson
said. The company had about 33,000 employees at the end of September.
Schwartz has spent two years overhauling Sun, which posted five years of losses under former CEO Scott McNealy. The company continues to lose market share in servers, the computers that run corporate networks and account for almost half of revenue. Last quarter Sun had a $1.45 billion expense to write down the value of acquisitions.
No leadership change
“There might be a little disappointment today, not in the numbers, but in that you didn’t get a change in leadership announced along with those job cuts,” said Brent Bracelin, an analyst at Pacific Crest Securities in Portland, Oregon.
Five analysts recommend selling Sun shares, four suggest buying them, and 12, including Bracelin, have “hold” ratings, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Southeastern Asset Management, based in Memphis, Tennessee, increased its stake to 21 percent of Sun’s outstanding stock last month and said it intended to be more active in corporate governance and management. Relational Investors LLC, run by activist investor Ralph Whitworth, disclosed that it held 5.88 million Sun shares as of June 30.
KKR investment
In January 2007, an investment fund owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co bought $700 million of Sun’s convertible notes. James H Greene Jr, a KKR general partner, has been on Sun’s board since January of this year.
“Sun’s actions announced today, while very difficult for employees, bring the company’s cost structure more in line with its revenue,” Greene
said in a statement released by Sun. “Based on Sun’s enhanced product portfolio, including a broad open-source offering, we have encouraged them to pursue a more focused strategy that builds upon these strengths.”
Worldwide technology spending in 2009 will grow less than predicted, research firm IDC said this week, and computer-related companies are trimming forecasts. Intel Corp slashed $1 billion from its fourth-quarter sales goal two days ago.
Spending industrywide will rise 2.6 per cent next year, down from an estimate of 5.9 per cent, Framingham, Massachusetts-based IDC said. Growth in the US will probably slow to 0.9 per cent, less than a quarter the pace IDC forecast in August.
Dire situation
Sales at Sun fell 11 per cent to $1.76 billion in the period ended Sept 28. Server revenue declined 15 per cent, and dropped in every region except for emerging markets.
Sun trails International Business Machines Corp, Hewlett- Packard Co and Dell Inc in servers. In the calendar second quarter, Sun’s share of the $13.8 billion market dropped to 11.8 per cent from 13.4 per cent a year earlier, according to Stamford, Connecticut-based research firm Gartner Inc Sun’s revenue fell in the period, while IBM, Dell and Hewlett-Packard all gained.
The company is struggling to sell its highest-priced servers and many of its recent orders have been for low-end systems, according to Dan Olds, a Gabriel Consulting Group analyst in Beaverton, Oregon.
Louis Miscioscia, a Boston-based analyst at Cowen & Co, said results have been disappointing for seven straight quarters. He compared Sun to a comatose patient.
“You’re hooked up to the machine, everything’s going to keep working because your body is still there, but are you ever going to see that comeback?” he said. “You might be around for 40 more years before you die. That’s the situation.”
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Fidelity National Investments Services sacks 10% of its workforce!
Forward by Srujan
Fidelity National Information Services
(FIS) has given pink slips to over 100 employees at its Chennai operations. This constitutes more
than 10% of its staff in the metro. Though the company, which has been in India
for over a decade, termed the move as ‘rationalisation’, employees are on the edge.
A leading provider of core processing for financial institutions, card issuer and transaction processing, and related information products and outsourcing, FIS has a headcount of over 4,000 employees across India. The sacked staff were unceremoniously escorted out of the office once they handed over their laptops and other official gadgets, sources told ET.
“Employees are on the edge. Those who got fired did not have any clue about it. Nobody knows what criteria was applied…whether it was the CTC parameter or poor performance. A mail was sent to the employees asking them to leave,” sources added.
Chennai operations has more than 1,000 staff. Among those axed, included four in the directorial cadre. An official from the US came specifically for retrenching people. Bangalore and Gurgaon are the next downsizing targets.
Apparently, one more round of this is expected to take place in Chennai next week. After repeated attempts, FIS HR VP Prashant Sharma responded to a mail from ET on Thursday. “FIS India is an integral part of the global enterprise and will play a critical role in the company’s future growth plans.
This is demonstrated by the fact that over the years FIS has introduced new processes and products in India which have created immense opportunities for many employees who have participated in this growth.
FIS Human resource and talent management practices are based on internal as well as client business requirements and these are reviewed periodically to ensure efficient and prudent management. As a result of this review, there has been rationalisation of some staff in our Chennai location only.
While the rationalisation is taking place at Chennai, FIS India is hiring at other locations, which include Gurgaon and Mumbai. In fact despite the trying times that the markets are going through, FIS’s recent 3rd quarter results have been above expectations and we are confident that we will continue to have growth opportunities for our employees in India.”
Fidelity National Information Services
(FIS) has given pink slips to over 100 employees at its Chennai operations. This constitutes more
than 10% of its staff in the metro. Though the company, which has been in India
for over a decade, termed the move as ‘rationalisation’, employees are on the edge.
A leading provider of core processing for financial institutions, card issuer and transaction processing, and related information products and outsourcing, FIS has a headcount of over 4,000 employees across India. The sacked staff were unceremoniously escorted out of the office once they handed over their laptops and other official gadgets, sources told ET.
“Employees are on the edge. Those who got fired did not have any clue about it. Nobody knows what criteria was applied…whether it was the CTC parameter or poor performance. A mail was sent to the employees asking them to leave,” sources added.
Chennai operations has more than 1,000 staff. Among those axed, included four in the directorial cadre. An official from the US came specifically for retrenching people. Bangalore and Gurgaon are the next downsizing targets.
Apparently, one more round of this is expected to take place in Chennai next week. After repeated attempts, FIS HR VP Prashant Sharma responded to a mail from ET on Thursday. “FIS India is an integral part of the global enterprise and will play a critical role in the company’s future growth plans.
This is demonstrated by the fact that over the years FIS has introduced new processes and products in India which have created immense opportunities for many employees who have participated in this growth.
FIS Human resource and talent management practices are based on internal as well as client business requirements and these are reviewed periodically to ensure efficient and prudent management. As a result of this review, there has been rationalisation of some staff in our Chennai location only.
While the rationalisation is taking place at Chennai, FIS India is hiring at other locations, which include Gurgaon and Mumbai. In fact despite the trying times that the markets are going through, FIS’s recent 3rd quarter results have been above expectations and we are confident that we will continue to have growth opportunities for our employees in India.”
Global Logic shows the door to 125 employees
Forward by Ramana
In another hit to the IT sector, GlobalLogic, one of the largest outsourced product development companies in India, has laid off
about 125 employees. While 108 employees were asked to leave ‘due to poor grading in the appraisals’ concluded in October, another 17 were told to leave because their ‘skill sets fell obsolete’.
The over $100-mn company, which has delivery centres in Noida, Nagpur and Pune, confirmed the layoffs but said the figure is 115. GlobalLogic CEO Peter Harrison, who flew in from the US this week, called an emergency townhall meeting to announce the drastic steps.
“We believe in sharing the numbers (of layoffs) with employees as we don’t want to create any anxiety. A transparent organisation is the most productive one,” said its marketing
head Rohit Sharma. Over the last two years, GlobalLogic reduced its headcount to 2,000 from 3,000. The company has also consolidated its verticals into three—B2B, B2C and telecom—to reduce flab and overlap.
In another interesting twist, one of the co-founders and partner Rajul Garg has resigned from the executive management team as the HR head to pursue entrepreneurial activities ‘outside the company’. He now just has a position on the board. The company is now on a lookout for a new HR head.
Business flow from start ups and emerging product companies has been impacted due to the slowdown. To reduce its discretionary spend, GlobalLogic has done away with paper or plastic tumblers and provided coffee mugs to employees. Single employee pick or drops even at night are now curtailed.
The company has also restructured its management team under which the Indian operations head Mukul Jain will now become the global head. The new India country manager and the existing Ukraine and China heads will report to him.
In another hit to the IT sector, GlobalLogic, one of the largest outsourced product development companies in India, has laid off
about 125 employees. While 108 employees were asked to leave ‘due to poor grading in the appraisals’ concluded in October, another 17 were told to leave because their ‘skill sets fell obsolete’.
The over $100-mn company, which has delivery centres in Noida, Nagpur and Pune, confirmed the layoffs but said the figure is 115. GlobalLogic CEO Peter Harrison, who flew in from the US this week, called an emergency townhall meeting to announce the drastic steps.
“We believe in sharing the numbers (of layoffs) with employees as we don’t want to create any anxiety. A transparent organisation is the most productive one,” said its marketing
head Rohit Sharma. Over the last two years, GlobalLogic reduced its headcount to 2,000 from 3,000. The company has also consolidated its verticals into three—B2B, B2C and telecom—to reduce flab and overlap.
In another interesting twist, one of the co-founders and partner Rajul Garg has resigned from the executive management team as the HR head to pursue entrepreneurial activities ‘outside the company’. He now just has a position on the board. The company is now on a lookout for a new HR head.
Business flow from start ups and emerging product companies has been impacted due to the slowdown. To reduce its discretionary spend, GlobalLogic has done away with paper or plastic tumblers and provided coffee mugs to employees. Single employee pick or drops even at night are now curtailed.
The company has also restructured its management team under which the Indian operations head Mukul Jain will now become the global head. The new India country manager and the existing Ukraine and China heads will report to him.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Managements- Get your act together before layoffs
Forward by Venkat
Managements- Get your act together before layoffs Else Repent in leisure
I thought I will write an article on this issue of layoffs and how Managements could handle it better. After all so many lives could be dependent on one breadwinner of the family, that may be your close friend or your own colleague or your relative. Without doubt, Layoffs cant be avoided because of the disturbing recessionary trends Globally. But what could be avoided is the intense heartburn between the Employer and the laid off employee. What is been happening in the past few months when it comes to layoffs is not right and unethical. and it is in this direction I thought I will contribute something positive in these negative times.
I just read about one IT Firm offering Severance package of Two months salary to the laid off employee..I think it is ridiculous. mostly it is the basic component of the salary they are talking about..and not take-home salary..that would work out to just 50% and altogether Severance package will work out to be only One month takehome salary. Can draw laidoff people mad with their family’s financial commitments..
Ofcourse, Indian IT companies when they got Good Annual profits (as they did in the past 5-10 years) did not share as much as the Employee deserved. But atleast when they are not doing well, they can share those money sacks lying in their Bank coffers. atleast by giving decent severance packages..
To say the least, Severence packages are measly in our country. I am not talking abt any one IT Company in particular, but most Indian IT Firms. Managements have to work on how they can give the best package rather than citing the old employee contracts, Indian market facts, Global recession,performance appraisals and such lame excuses. If you can give decent offers monetarily while these employees where being recruited in truckloads, follow the very same policy during exit too. Give employees what they deserve. Where are the voices from NASSCOMS and CIIs. Are they only for protecting Employer interests ??
Before politicians come knocking on the IT CEO’s doors just like they did as in Jet issue, it is better they understand the situation and give the laidoff employees decent bye-bye packages. Else there are umpteen unions and Violence-happy outfits who are ready to exploit the volatile situation. As a sane person, I dont think we should give such nasty-minded outfits a chance to do that..All is well when it is well..and yes this holds viceversa too. Play your cards right.
Managements, Get your act together before it is too late. Be Professional. Let it be a win-win situation to both managements as well as the pink-slipped employees.
Managements- Get your act together before layoffs Else Repent in leisure
I thought I will write an article on this issue of layoffs and how Managements could handle it better. After all so many lives could be dependent on one breadwinner of the family, that may be your close friend or your own colleague or your relative. Without doubt, Layoffs cant be avoided because of the disturbing recessionary trends Globally. But what could be avoided is the intense heartburn between the Employer and the laid off employee. What is been happening in the past few months when it comes to layoffs is not right and unethical. and it is in this direction I thought I will contribute something positive in these negative times.
I just read about one IT Firm offering Severance package of Two months salary to the laid off employee..I think it is ridiculous. mostly it is the basic component of the salary they are talking about..and not take-home salary..that would work out to just 50% and altogether Severance package will work out to be only One month takehome salary. Can draw laidoff people mad with their family’s financial commitments..
Ofcourse, Indian IT companies when they got Good Annual profits (as they did in the past 5-10 years) did not share as much as the Employee deserved. But atleast when they are not doing well, they can share those money sacks lying in their Bank coffers. atleast by giving decent severance packages..
To say the least, Severence packages are measly in our country. I am not talking abt any one IT Company in particular, but most Indian IT Firms. Managements have to work on how they can give the best package rather than citing the old employee contracts, Indian market facts, Global recession,performance appraisals and such lame excuses. If you can give decent offers monetarily while these employees where being recruited in truckloads, follow the very same policy during exit too. Give employees what they deserve. Where are the voices from NASSCOMS and CIIs. Are they only for protecting Employer interests ??
Before politicians come knocking on the IT CEO’s doors just like they did as in Jet issue, it is better they understand the situation and give the laidoff employees decent bye-bye packages. Else there are umpteen unions and Violence-happy outfits who are ready to exploit the volatile situation. As a sane person, I dont think we should give such nasty-minded outfits a chance to do that..All is well when it is well..and yes this holds viceversa too. Play your cards right.
Managements, Get your act together before it is too late. Be Professional. Let it be a win-win situation to both managements as well as the pink-slipped employees.
American Express India cuts Jobs!
Credit card company American Express has asked some of its senior managerial employees to quit as part of its strategy to save costs.
The layoffs are primarily in Delhi and Bangalore and all the employees who have been asked to quit have been with Amex India for the past 15 to 20 years. Amex India has hired a consultancy to help sacked employees find a new job. The company currently has around 6,000 employees in India.
PTI reports the company is believed to have handed over pink slips to about 200 employees and senior executives.
The report on layoffs comes on a day when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asked Indian companies to “refrain from large-scale lay-offs”. Singh on Monday warned industry leaders that layoffs may lead to a “negative spiral”.
“While every effort needs to be made to cut cost and raise productivity, I hope there will be no knee-jerk reaction such as large-scale layoffs, which may lead to a negative spiral,” Singh said on Monday.
American Express confirmed that it would cut jobs in India but said it cannot give a specific number. “Approximately 7,000 jobs are being eliminated company-wide which translates into about 10 percent of the company’s worldwide workforce,” the company said in a press statement.
“While we cannot give you specific numbers for India, we can tell you that we (Indian operation) are not the main focus for restructuring,” it said. “Reduction will occur throughout the company and across business units, markets and staff groups, primarily focusing on management and other positions that do not interact directly with customers.”
American Express, last week, announced it would lay off 7,000 employees—about 10 per cent of its worldwide workforce—to save $1.8 billion in costs in 2009.
PTI reports the company would also suspend management-level salary hikes for the next year and curtail hiring.
Jet Airways was last month was forced to withdrew its decision to sack 1,900 employees.
The layoffs are primarily in Delhi and Bangalore and all the employees who have been asked to quit have been with Amex India for the past 15 to 20 years. Amex India has hired a consultancy to help sacked employees find a new job. The company currently has around 6,000 employees in India.
PTI reports the company is believed to have handed over pink slips to about 200 employees and senior executives.
The report on layoffs comes on a day when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asked Indian companies to “refrain from large-scale lay-offs”. Singh on Monday warned industry leaders that layoffs may lead to a “negative spiral”.
“While every effort needs to be made to cut cost and raise productivity, I hope there will be no knee-jerk reaction such as large-scale layoffs, which may lead to a negative spiral,” Singh said on Monday.
American Express confirmed that it would cut jobs in India but said it cannot give a specific number. “Approximately 7,000 jobs are being eliminated company-wide which translates into about 10 percent of the company’s worldwide workforce,” the company said in a press statement.
“While we cannot give you specific numbers for India, we can tell you that we (Indian operation) are not the main focus for restructuring,” it said. “Reduction will occur throughout the company and across business units, markets and staff groups, primarily focusing on management and other positions that do not interact directly with customers.”
American Express, last week, announced it would lay off 7,000 employees—about 10 per cent of its worldwide workforce—to save $1.8 billion in costs in 2009.
PTI reports the company would also suspend management-level salary hikes for the next year and curtail hiring.
Jet Airways was last month was forced to withdrew its decision to sack 1,900 employees.
Monday, November 3, 2008
IBS Trivandrum Layoffs confirmed
Forward by Pooja
Flexing its muscles against the staff retrenchment in IT firms in the wake of economic recession, Kerala Government has ordered a probe into the dismissal of 20 professionals from Technopark-based IBS Software Services (P) Ltd.
CITU veteran and Labour Minister P K Gurudasan asked the Deputy Labour Commissioner (DLO) to probe the incident and see whether action could be initiated against the company as per the Industrial Disputes Act. “The Government has the responsibility to ensure that companies stick to labour regulations,” he said.
Accordingly, officials of the Labour Department visited IBS and sought service details of the staff. As Saturday was a holiday for the company, further inquiry would be held on Monday.
“The Labour Department cannot suo motu take any action in this regard. The dismissed employees should file complaints,” said DLO Abdul Nisthar.
Chief Minister’s IT advisor Joseph Mathew said the probe has send a clear message to the industry that the Government was committed to protect the interest of the workforce. “The Government had made clear that even SEZs would not be exempted from labour laws. The hire and fire policy of the IT industry is an ill effect of globalisation,” he said.
IBS CEO V K Mathews told The Indian Express that the Government move was in bad taste. It is a pity that Kerala raised a non-issue, especially when 60 per cent of the 2,500-strong IBS workforce hailed from the state, he said.
Mathews said the employees were shown the door as their performance was not up to the mark. He said the dismissed employees were given two months salary as per the contract.
Flexing its muscles against the staff retrenchment in IT firms in the wake of economic recession, Kerala Government has ordered a probe into the dismissal of 20 professionals from Technopark-based IBS Software Services (P) Ltd.
CITU veteran and Labour Minister P K Gurudasan asked the Deputy Labour Commissioner (DLO) to probe the incident and see whether action could be initiated against the company as per the Industrial Disputes Act. “The Government has the responsibility to ensure that companies stick to labour regulations,” he said.
Accordingly, officials of the Labour Department visited IBS and sought service details of the staff. As Saturday was a holiday for the company, further inquiry would be held on Monday.
“The Labour Department cannot suo motu take any action in this regard. The dismissed employees should file complaints,” said DLO Abdul Nisthar.
Chief Minister’s IT advisor Joseph Mathew said the probe has send a clear message to the industry that the Government was committed to protect the interest of the workforce. “The Government had made clear that even SEZs would not be exempted from labour laws. The hire and fire policy of the IT industry is an ill effect of globalisation,” he said.
IBS CEO V K Mathews told The Indian Express that the Government move was in bad taste. It is a pity that Kerala raised a non-issue, especially when 60 per cent of the 2,500-strong IBS workforce hailed from the state, he said.
Mathews said the employees were shown the door as their performance was not up to the mark. He said the dismissed employees were given two months salary as per the contract.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Jet Airways’ top 200 employees face 30% pay cut
Forward by Venkat
India’s largest private airline, Jet Airways, is planning to slash salaries of its top 200 officials by 25-30% in order to battle rising costs. Also, it has not yet decided whether to pay Diwali bonus for this year.
A top Jet Airways official said the proposed salary cuts would affect employees who are earning Rs 10 lakh and above per month. The salary cut may come into effect from next month, the official said, asking not to be quoted. He added that an announcement to this effect is likely on Saturday.
The senior employees likely to be hit include pilots and aircraft maintenance engineers, apart from management and planning officials. The official could not provide the quantum of savings the airline might achieve from the exercise. He said salary costs account for about 12% of Jet’s total operating costs while fuel costs are the highest at 33%.
When contacted, Jet Airways executive director Saroj Datta said: “We will do everything to reduce costs of the company. If necessary, this would also include salary cuts for the top management.”
However, the company has not yet made any decision on this, he added. Jet Airways’ tier I employees enjoy take-home salaries as high Rs 10-15 lakh per month, depending on their experience and positions.
Of its 13,200 employees, around 2,000 earn more than a lakh per month. These employees are mainly pilots and aircraft maintenance engineers.
Jet is also planning to rejig the salary structure of its reinstated cabin crew and other staff by shifting a major portion of their salary to the variable component. Also, the cabin crew is expected to accept a substantial reduction in their flying hours as Jet will reduce flight capacity by 30%.
Jet had reinstated 1,900 employees last week, within two days of laying them off. In 2007-08, Jet Airways’ salary bill had shot up to Rs 1,205 crore from Rs 938 crore in 2006-07.
This was mainly due to the recruitment of pilots, engineers and cabin crew required for the company’s expansion plans. This included a significant number of expatriate personnel.
An analyst told ET that Jet Airways will report a quarterly loss of more than $120 million (Rs 589 crore) for the three months ended September 2008. It had made a profit of Rs 143 crore in June quarter on revenues of Rs 1,983 crore. The board of Jet Airways is meeting on October 25 to consider the financial results.
The Jet Airways stock slipped 11% to close at Rs 217.30 in a rising Mumbai market on Monday.
India’s largest private airline, Jet Airways, is planning to slash salaries of its top 200 officials by 25-30% in order to battle rising costs. Also, it has not yet decided whether to pay Diwali bonus for this year.
A top Jet Airways official said the proposed salary cuts would affect employees who are earning Rs 10 lakh and above per month. The salary cut may come into effect from next month, the official said, asking not to be quoted. He added that an announcement to this effect is likely on Saturday.
The senior employees likely to be hit include pilots and aircraft maintenance engineers, apart from management and planning officials. The official could not provide the quantum of savings the airline might achieve from the exercise. He said salary costs account for about 12% of Jet’s total operating costs while fuel costs are the highest at 33%.
When contacted, Jet Airways executive director Saroj Datta said: “We will do everything to reduce costs of the company. If necessary, this would also include salary cuts for the top management.”
However, the company has not yet made any decision on this, he added. Jet Airways’ tier I employees enjoy take-home salaries as high Rs 10-15 lakh per month, depending on their experience and positions.
Of its 13,200 employees, around 2,000 earn more than a lakh per month. These employees are mainly pilots and aircraft maintenance engineers.
Jet is also planning to rejig the salary structure of its reinstated cabin crew and other staff by shifting a major portion of their salary to the variable component. Also, the cabin crew is expected to accept a substantial reduction in their flying hours as Jet will reduce flight capacity by 30%.
Jet had reinstated 1,900 employees last week, within two days of laying them off. In 2007-08, Jet Airways’ salary bill had shot up to Rs 1,205 crore from Rs 938 crore in 2006-07.
This was mainly due to the recruitment of pilots, engineers and cabin crew required for the company’s expansion plans. This included a significant number of expatriate personnel.
An analyst told ET that Jet Airways will report a quarterly loss of more than $120 million (Rs 589 crore) for the three months ended September 2008. It had made a profit of Rs 143 crore in June quarter on revenues of Rs 1,983 crore. The board of Jet Airways is meeting on October 25 to consider the financial results.
The Jet Airways stock slipped 11% to close at Rs 217.30 in a rising Mumbai market on Monday.
Friday, October 17, 2008
What Indian Law says about Termination
Forward by Kalyani
Termination of Employment
Existing regulations require companies to obtain government permission to close an operation or lay off workers in firms with 100 or more employees (service-industry companies, such as IT firms, are exempt). The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 requires employers wishing to close an establishment to apply for permission at least 60 days before the intended closing date. If the government does not convey its decision within 60 days of the application, approval is deemed granted. A company can appeal against a rejection to the Industrial Tribunal.
Workers in an establishment that is closed illegally (that is, without approval) remain entitled to full pay and benefits. Dismissal for misconduct is allowed without notice under the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1959. The Payment of Gratuity Act 1972 entitles workers to a gratuity of up to Rs350,000 after five years of continuous service.
It is usually difficult for large companies to dismiss staff. Retrenchments and layoffs require full explanation to and prior approval from the state government. (Retrenchment under an agreement specifying a termination date requires no prior notice.) The last-in, first-out principle is usually followed.
Compelled by mounting competition to cut wage costs or consider moving out of high-wage locations such as Mumbai (Bombay), several companies have resorted to voluntary retirement schemes (VRSs) or redeployment. Beneficiaries under an approved VRS of a private-sector company are exempt from tax on monetary benefits of up to Rs500,000.
Termination of Employment
Existing regulations require companies to obtain government permission to close an operation or lay off workers in firms with 100 or more employees (service-industry companies, such as IT firms, are exempt). The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 requires employers wishing to close an establishment to apply for permission at least 60 days before the intended closing date. If the government does not convey its decision within 60 days of the application, approval is deemed granted. A company can appeal against a rejection to the Industrial Tribunal.
Workers in an establishment that is closed illegally (that is, without approval) remain entitled to full pay and benefits. Dismissal for misconduct is allowed without notice under the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1959. The Payment of Gratuity Act 1972 entitles workers to a gratuity of up to Rs350,000 after five years of continuous service.
It is usually difficult for large companies to dismiss staff. Retrenchments and layoffs require full explanation to and prior approval from the state government. (Retrenchment under an agreement specifying a termination date requires no prior notice.) The last-in, first-out principle is usually followed.
Compelled by mounting competition to cut wage costs or consider moving out of high-wage locations such as Mumbai (Bombay), several companies have resorted to voluntary retirement schemes (VRSs) or redeployment. Beneficiaries under an approved VRS of a private-sector company are exempt from tax on monetary benefits of up to Rs500,000.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Jet Airways shows pink slips to 1,000 employees
Forward by Pooja
Riding the strength of its alliance with Kingfisher Airlines, another private carrier Jet Airways [Get Quote] has laid off up to 1,000 employees to rationalise its operations.
The entire force of unconfirmed staff is being laid off on a 30-day compensation package, a top Jet Airways official, who did not want to be named, told PTI.
The staff, which has been retrenched is from all across the operation and letters severing their services, were given on Tuesday, he said.
Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines, both of which account for 60 per cent market share in India had announced an alliance on Monday night to share their resources and routes.
Both Naresh Goyal of Jet and Vijay Mallya of Kingfisher are in Hyderabad to attend the Airshow.
“It is part of handling economic slowdown and carefully rationalising the operation,” the official said adding the downsizing is based on capacity, load-factor and traffic patterns.
The rationalistaion also seeks to optimise the operations in line with the rationalisation of its flight and he pointed out that the airline has stopped some of its existing flights including that to San Fransisco.
Earlier while announcing the alliance, both Goyal and Mallya had said that the coming together was in tune with the global practice of reducing killing costs and clarified that there was no equity involvement.
The alliance would work together on seven fronts, including route and code sharing as also sharing of crew, a move that would help them cut exorbitant cost that had been putting enormous pressures for the last 4-6 years.
News Update
Raj Thackeray threatens Jet Air over firing staff
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on Wednesday said that no Jet Airways flight would be allowed to take off from Mumbai if the airline does not reconsider its decision to terminate the services of 850 flight attendants.
The MNS chief’s threat comes in the wake of the private airline’s decision to lay-off nearly 1,000 employees with a view to rationalise its operations.
Raj was talking to reporters after meeting a group of Jet employees, who called on him at his office ‘Rajgad’ in central Mumbai.
MNS activists will meet Jet officials on Thursday to discuss the issue.
Riding the strength of its alliance with Kingfisher Airlines, another private carrier Jet Airways [Get Quote] has laid off up to 1,000 employees to rationalise its operations.
The entire force of unconfirmed staff is being laid off on a 30-day compensation package, a top Jet Airways official, who did not want to be named, told PTI.
The staff, which has been retrenched is from all across the operation and letters severing their services, were given on Tuesday, he said.
Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines, both of which account for 60 per cent market share in India had announced an alliance on Monday night to share their resources and routes.
Both Naresh Goyal of Jet and Vijay Mallya of Kingfisher are in Hyderabad to attend the Airshow.
“It is part of handling economic slowdown and carefully rationalising the operation,” the official said adding the downsizing is based on capacity, load-factor and traffic patterns.
The rationalistaion also seeks to optimise the operations in line with the rationalisation of its flight and he pointed out that the airline has stopped some of its existing flights including that to San Fransisco.
Earlier while announcing the alliance, both Goyal and Mallya had said that the coming together was in tune with the global practice of reducing killing costs and clarified that there was no equity involvement.
The alliance would work together on seven fronts, including route and code sharing as also sharing of crew, a move that would help them cut exorbitant cost that had been putting enormous pressures for the last 4-6 years.
News Update
Raj Thackeray threatens Jet Air over firing staff
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on Wednesday said that no Jet Airways flight would be allowed to take off from Mumbai if the airline does not reconsider its decision to terminate the services of 850 flight attendants.
The MNS chief’s threat comes in the wake of the private airline’s decision to lay-off nearly 1,000 employees with a view to rationalise its operations.
Raj was talking to reporters after meeting a group of Jet employees, who called on him at his office ‘Rajgad’ in central Mumbai.
MNS activists will meet Jet officials on Thursday to discuss the issue.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
More Job Cut coming for India IT Companies
Forward by Srujan
In the last few months the world has changed a lot and it will be never same again for years to come. All over the world, job cut has started seriously and major counties like US, Europe, Japan etc where India has a great interest so far as IT is concerned have already gone deep into economic downturn. Inspite of the best efforts of various concerned authorities in various countries, the situation has not improved at all. Major US companies have already announced big job cuts and they have already cut doen their IT spending for this year. This business strategy will cintinue in the coming days, considering the bad business conditions all over the world. It will definitely lead to more job cuts as SATYAM has done recently. Of course SATYAM may not be good company at all, beuase Raju is not taking much interest in that compnay because of his less stake in the company, but other IT majors like HCL, INFY, etc are soon going to cut jobs. They have already started cost cutting measures, and soon start job cutting also as a measure to cut cost with less business. Particular companies like HCL are very riskly. So try to stick to good companies never attempt to switch to companies like HCL for better job security ! In fact few days back one of my friend told me that his friend who was working in HCL, Chennai was fired abruptly with a 3 days notice period !! Be careful !
In the last few months the world has changed a lot and it will be never same again for years to come. All over the world, job cut has started seriously and major counties like US, Europe, Japan etc where India has a great interest so far as IT is concerned have already gone deep into economic downturn. Inspite of the best efforts of various concerned authorities in various countries, the situation has not improved at all. Major US companies have already announced big job cuts and they have already cut doen their IT spending for this year. This business strategy will cintinue in the coming days, considering the bad business conditions all over the world. It will definitely lead to more job cuts as SATYAM has done recently. Of course SATYAM may not be good company at all, beuase Raju is not taking much interest in that compnay because of his less stake in the company, but other IT majors like HCL, INFY, etc are soon going to cut jobs. They have already started cost cutting measures, and soon start job cutting also as a measure to cut cost with less business. Particular companies like HCL are very riskly. So try to stick to good companies never attempt to switch to companies like HCL for better job security ! In fact few days back one of my friend told me that his friend who was working in HCL, Chennai was fired abruptly with a 3 days notice period !! Be careful !
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
IT firms send 11,000 Indians to UK every year
Forward by Sravanthi
London: Over 11, 000 foreign workers are being brought into Britain by Indian IT companies every year, prompting a trade union to question if the work permit system is being “abused” in the process
The Sunday Telegraph releases Home Office figures, which it says it obtained after a two-year battle under the Freedom of Information Act, showing that just six specialist Indian IT companies had recruited 11,644 immigrants to work for them in the UK in 2006, the most recent figure available.
The companies are Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, Mahindra-BT, Mastek, Infosys Technologies and Satyam Computer Services.
Over a seven-year period these companies were granted work permits to bring 47,000 foreign nationals into the UK. Their annual total has climbed steadily every year since 2000 and has doubled since 2003.
The majority are thought to have been Indian nationals. The Home Office could not say how many have settled in the UK and how many have returned to their homeland.
Tata Consusltancy Services is the largest single sponsor of foreign workers. It secured permits for around 4,000 foreign workers in 2006 compared with less than 1,600 in 2000.
Much of the work of the six companies involves outsourcing, where British companies or public-sector organisations bring in a separate company to operate their computer system.
In some cases, companies have brought staff from India to Britain to learn about operations such as call-centres, before shutting down the British businesses and moving the staff back to India to replicate the operation there.
A British trade union, Unite, is questioning these figures. It says while it is possible that only foreign workers have the skills required for the specific jobs in question, the granting of work permits “should not be at the cost of resident workers”.
Unite is worried that the Indian companies may be “undercutting” British pay rates in the UK by securing work permits to foreign workers and paying them much less than what their British counterparts would earn in the same rank.
According to The Sunday Telegraph, British IT workers earned an average of £35,000 a year in 2006 while two-thirds of foreign-born employees in the same sector were paid under £30,000 a year. The figures include both employees on short-term and long-term work permits.
Peter Skyte, national officer of Unite, wrote in a report titled “The impact of the work permit scheme on IT professionals in the UK”: “The question needs to be asked whether the skills represented in these figures are not available in the UK, which would be a justifiable use of the work permit system, or whether these companies are bringing in non-resident work permit holders at below going pay rates in the UK, which would not.”
London: Over 11, 000 foreign workers are being brought into Britain by Indian IT companies every year, prompting a trade union to question if the work permit system is being “abused” in the process
The Sunday Telegraph releases Home Office figures, which it says it obtained after a two-year battle under the Freedom of Information Act, showing that just six specialist Indian IT companies had recruited 11,644 immigrants to work for them in the UK in 2006, the most recent figure available.
The companies are Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, Mahindra-BT, Mastek, Infosys Technologies and Satyam Computer Services.
Over a seven-year period these companies were granted work permits to bring 47,000 foreign nationals into the UK. Their annual total has climbed steadily every year since 2000 and has doubled since 2003.
The majority are thought to have been Indian nationals. The Home Office could not say how many have settled in the UK and how many have returned to their homeland.
Tata Consusltancy Services is the largest single sponsor of foreign workers. It secured permits for around 4,000 foreign workers in 2006 compared with less than 1,600 in 2000.
Much of the work of the six companies involves outsourcing, where British companies or public-sector organisations bring in a separate company to operate their computer system.
In some cases, companies have brought staff from India to Britain to learn about operations such as call-centres, before shutting down the British businesses and moving the staff back to India to replicate the operation there.
A British trade union, Unite, is questioning these figures. It says while it is possible that only foreign workers have the skills required for the specific jobs in question, the granting of work permits “should not be at the cost of resident workers”.
Unite is worried that the Indian companies may be “undercutting” British pay rates in the UK by securing work permits to foreign workers and paying them much less than what their British counterparts would earn in the same rank.
According to The Sunday Telegraph, British IT workers earned an average of £35,000 a year in 2006 while two-thirds of foreign-born employees in the same sector were paid under £30,000 a year. The figures include both employees on short-term and long-term work permits.
Peter Skyte, national officer of Unite, wrote in a report titled “The impact of the work permit scheme on IT professionals in the UK”: “The question needs to be asked whether the skills represented in these figures are not available in the UK, which would be a justifiable use of the work permit system, or whether these companies are bringing in non-resident work permit holders at below going pay rates in the UK, which would not.”
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
EBay cutting 1,600 jobs, 10% of work force
Forward by Pooja
After a series of changes designed to draw more people to its online marketplace, eBay Inc.’s latest alteration is aimed at its own employees. The auction site operator said Monday it will cut about 1,600 jobs, 10% of its work force, in its largest round of dismissals ever.
About 1,000 full-time employees will be gone, while eBay will achieve the rest of the cuts by letting temporary and part-time workers go and by leaving open positions unfilled. EBay would not describe which positions would be cut, other than to say they will come across the company and around the world.
EBay chief executive John Donahoe said in an interview that the cuts were not a reaction to the weak economy. Investors were still disheartened, sending eBay shares to a 5-year low.
Donahoe, who took over as CEO from Meg Whitman in March, said eBay’s leadership had been thinking about making the cuts since midsummer. The moves will make eBay “more responsive and nimble,” he said, and will give it an opportunity to reinvest in growth areas like its online payments service PayPal and its classified-ads business both of which eBay augmented with acquisitions announced Monday.
EBay anticipates $70 million to $80 million in restructuring charges related to the job cuts, mostly in the fourth quarter. The company said the cuts will result in $150 million in annual cost savings.
This round of cuts is eBay’s second this year. The company said in March that it would cut 125 positions in Europe and North America, including 70 jobs at its San Jose, California headquarters.
EBay has struggled to match competition from other areas of e-commerce, with many consumers increasingly using more online retailers like Amazon.com Inc. that follow a more traditional selling model. In the second quarter, eBay’s count of “active users” rose just 1.4%.
Already this year, eBay has altered the fees that vendors pay, its search results and its feedback system in an effort to improve the experience for buyers and keep them coming back. But the changes have also angered a number of sellers, some of whom have left the site.
Donahoe did acknowledge that the weak economy and the effects of the strengthening dollar are hurting eBay’s business. Third-quarter revenue will be at the low end of the company’s expectations. Nonetheless, eBay said its third-quarter earnings would be higher than it had predicted in July.
EBay also said Monday that it will purchase Bill Me Later, a privately held company that lets online retailers give shoppers credit without detailed application forms, for about $820 million in cash and $125 million in outstanding options. The Timonium, Maryland-based company is expected to become part of PayPal by the end of the year. Shoppers should be able to use the Bill Me Later service on eBay’s sites in the second half of 2009, PayPal President Scott Thompson said in an interview.
After a series of changes designed to draw more people to its online marketplace, eBay Inc.’s latest alteration is aimed at its own employees. The auction site operator said Monday it will cut about 1,600 jobs, 10% of its work force, in its largest round of dismissals ever.
About 1,000 full-time employees will be gone, while eBay will achieve the rest of the cuts by letting temporary and part-time workers go and by leaving open positions unfilled. EBay would not describe which positions would be cut, other than to say they will come across the company and around the world.
EBay chief executive John Donahoe said in an interview that the cuts were not a reaction to the weak economy. Investors were still disheartened, sending eBay shares to a 5-year low.
Donahoe, who took over as CEO from Meg Whitman in March, said eBay’s leadership had been thinking about making the cuts since midsummer. The moves will make eBay “more responsive and nimble,” he said, and will give it an opportunity to reinvest in growth areas like its online payments service PayPal and its classified-ads business both of which eBay augmented with acquisitions announced Monday.
EBay anticipates $70 million to $80 million in restructuring charges related to the job cuts, mostly in the fourth quarter. The company said the cuts will result in $150 million in annual cost savings.
This round of cuts is eBay’s second this year. The company said in March that it would cut 125 positions in Europe and North America, including 70 jobs at its San Jose, California headquarters.
EBay has struggled to match competition from other areas of e-commerce, with many consumers increasingly using more online retailers like Amazon.com Inc. that follow a more traditional selling model. In the second quarter, eBay’s count of “active users” rose just 1.4%.
Already this year, eBay has altered the fees that vendors pay, its search results and its feedback system in an effort to improve the experience for buyers and keep them coming back. But the changes have also angered a number of sellers, some of whom have left the site.
Donahoe did acknowledge that the weak economy and the effects of the strengthening dollar are hurting eBay’s business. Third-quarter revenue will be at the low end of the company’s expectations. Nonetheless, eBay said its third-quarter earnings would be higher than it had predicted in July.
EBay also said Monday that it will purchase Bill Me Later, a privately held company that lets online retailers give shoppers credit without detailed application forms, for about $820 million in cash and $125 million in outstanding options. The Timonium, Maryland-based company is expected to become part of PayPal by the end of the year. Shoppers should be able to use the Bill Me Later service on eBay’s sites in the second half of 2009, PayPal President Scott Thompson said in an interview.
Never Work For Satyam
Forwarded by Venkat
Please find my real case:
they follow a very stragic way to fire people when ever they want to fire the employees. The most risky company in INDIA. Every month atleast 100 to 500 people are thrown out with a single day notice. Imagine If you dont have a project or doller dipping states ..SATYAM have to close if the dollar becomes 32 however they are try to expand the bussiness in other areas as well very fast to catch up the tasks. They will ask the bank staements of complete tenure starting the day u join the company lets take last five years or 7 years to pull some body out of company if not required for the project saying your BG is RED and please justify. also they check every thing the day u started the employment to some how to catch a person. Satyam fired 560 this month from hyderabad giving BG RED . real genuine experience people also were fired saying BG RED and people are literally suffereing. My sincere suggestion is better find a secured company rather depending purely clients and revenue rather. start serching jobs rather , or you will also be one like me who lost job even after having 5 years of real time. The most unsecure company. before the dollar falls …please get out of the places like
satyam…..
i can say ..you people will learn a lesson for playing with employees
Please find my real case:
they follow a very stragic way to fire people when ever they want to fire the employees. The most risky company in INDIA. Every month atleast 100 to 500 people are thrown out with a single day notice. Imagine If you dont have a project or doller dipping states ..SATYAM have to close if the dollar becomes 32 however they are try to expand the bussiness in other areas as well very fast to catch up the tasks. They will ask the bank staements of complete tenure starting the day u join the company lets take last five years or 7 years to pull some body out of company if not required for the project saying your BG is RED and please justify. also they check every thing the day u started the employment to some how to catch a person. Satyam fired 560 this month from hyderabad giving BG RED . real genuine experience people also were fired saying BG RED and people are literally suffereing. My sincere suggestion is better find a secured company rather depending purely clients and revenue rather. start serching jobs rather , or you will also be one like me who lost job even after having 5 years of real time. The most unsecure company. before the dollar falls …please get out of the places like
satyam…..
i can say ..you people will learn a lesson for playing with employees
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Nokia employee commits suicide due to work pressures in IT
Forwarded by Venkat
Its a shame that Bangalore has the highest number of suicides in the country due to work pressure in IT industry but there is no step taken by government to control the IT industry menance. I can see Ramadoss aping west in implementing Smoking ban but where is the political concern towards one of the most money spinning industry in the country? Why not ape their labour laws and penalties for corporates? Why are not being accounting frauds being done by all these IT companies not under scanner? Why the companies are exempted from paying Income tax and their promoters take 600 Crores in dividents tax free? If our elected representatives cannot answer these questions - let’s change them.
BANGALORE: Two managers, who allegedly led Soni Jagadish (25), a Nokia employee, to suicide, remained untraceable on Monday. Soni’s suicide note held the managers — Teja and Suchin — responsible.
On Friday morning, Soni was found hanging from the ceiling fan in her rented, Jayanagar 9th Block house. She had written suicide notes to her father, mother and brother, and a friend, Venkat. She had also written letters to the police and media, asking them to expose and punish the managers who allegedly harassed her at work.
Soni’s father Jagadish, who works for BSNL in Mysore, was initially reluctant to complain but later approached Tilaknagar police.
The police have charged Teja and Suchin with abetting suicide. But their mobile phones are switched off and the police are not being able to trace them, though they have obtained their addresses from the company. They stay in NR Colony and Domlur respectively.
On Saturday, Nokia in an official statement mentioned that the company will cooperate in the investigation. The police have sealed the cubicle that Soni used in her office. Venkat, Soni’s friend whom she addressed in one of her notes, is yet to give his statement — crucial for investigation — to the police.
Meanwhile, Karnataka Rakshana Vedike protested in front of the Nokia office in Marathahalli. They demanded that the company compensate the bereaved family and take action against its employees who were allegedly harassing Soni.
KRV leader Praveen Shetty said the company had assured them that suitable action would be taken.
Leaders from the Youth Congress committee met additional commissioner M R Pujar and requested him to arrest those responsible for the death.
Its a shame that Bangalore has the highest number of suicides in the country due to work pressure in IT industry but there is no step taken by government to control the IT industry menance. I can see Ramadoss aping west in implementing Smoking ban but where is the political concern towards one of the most money spinning industry in the country? Why not ape their labour laws and penalties for corporates? Why are not being accounting frauds being done by all these IT companies not under scanner? Why the companies are exempted from paying Income tax and their promoters take 600 Crores in dividents tax free? If our elected representatives cannot answer these questions - let’s change them.
BANGALORE: Two managers, who allegedly led Soni Jagadish (25), a Nokia employee, to suicide, remained untraceable on Monday. Soni’s suicide note held the managers — Teja and Suchin — responsible.
On Friday morning, Soni was found hanging from the ceiling fan in her rented, Jayanagar 9th Block house. She had written suicide notes to her father, mother and brother, and a friend, Venkat. She had also written letters to the police and media, asking them to expose and punish the managers who allegedly harassed her at work.
Soni’s father Jagadish, who works for BSNL in Mysore, was initially reluctant to complain but later approached Tilaknagar police.
The police have charged Teja and Suchin with abetting suicide. But their mobile phones are switched off and the police are not being able to trace them, though they have obtained their addresses from the company. They stay in NR Colony and Domlur respectively.
On Saturday, Nokia in an official statement mentioned that the company will cooperate in the investigation. The police have sealed the cubicle that Soni used in her office. Venkat, Soni’s friend whom she addressed in one of her notes, is yet to give his statement — crucial for investigation — to the police.
Meanwhile, Karnataka Rakshana Vedike protested in front of the Nokia office in Marathahalli. They demanded that the company compensate the bereaved family and take action against its employees who were allegedly harassing Soni.
KRV leader Praveen Shetty said the company had assured them that suitable action would be taken.
Leaders from the Youth Congress committee met additional commissioner M R Pujar and requested him to arrest those responsible for the death.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Satyam firing - in what a Style!
Forwarded by Venkat
Satyam computers is laying off its employees in a unique style.Though many walkins are being held to recruit freshers, its all hype to show that they have projects.Also they are getting 2 lakh of deposit money per each fresher.Even then huge number of freshers who are in pipeline to join are told to search jobs for
themselves.One is in as long as the project is in progress. Once completed the person is out,reason cited is ,the company is badly suffering from dearth of projects due to the Upaid case. On 22nd September,there is axeing of employees at Satyam’s Chennai centre,and a week ago quite good number of them are laid off at
their Hyderabad centre.The reason as told by the HR department is the company can’t bear the expenditure of employees as there are no projects and its not issue of performance as told to the outside world.And the ones retrenched are replaced by freshers who bring in 2 lakh per head.To the outside world the axed employees are told as having been kept under performance scanner while the main reason here is the financial position of the company.
While this being the case,Satyam’s exit process can be said to bit better than Wipro’s process.While at Wipro the laid off people are told by watchman itself not to come, Satyam people allow them atleast to enter the campus.But everything comes to you as sudden shock.This is just the tip of an iceberg.
Satyam computers is laying off its employees in a unique style.Though many walkins are being held to recruit freshers, its all hype to show that they have projects.Also they are getting 2 lakh of deposit money per each fresher.Even then huge number of freshers who are in pipeline to join are told to search jobs for
themselves.One is in as long as the project is in progress. Once completed the person is out,reason cited is ,the company is badly suffering from dearth of projects due to the Upaid case. On 22nd September,there is axeing of employees at Satyam’s Chennai centre,and a week ago quite good number of them are laid off at
their Hyderabad centre.The reason as told by the HR department is the company can’t bear the expenditure of employees as there are no projects and its not issue of performance as told to the outside world.And the ones retrenched are replaced by freshers who bring in 2 lakh per head.To the outside world the axed employees are told as having been kept under performance scanner while the main reason here is the financial position of the company.
While this being the case,Satyam’s exit process can be said to bit better than Wipro’s process.While at Wipro the laid off people are told by watchman itself not to come, Satyam people allow them atleast to enter the campus.But everything comes to you as sudden shock.This is just the tip of an iceberg.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
HSBC cuts 1,100 investment banking jobs
Forwarded by Venkat
Banking major HSBC has cut 1,100 jobs in its investment banking division due to turmoil in the financial markets, a media report said.
“HSBC slashed 1,100 jobs in its investment banking division as the financial group tightened its belt due to the slump in the financial markets,” The Financial Times reported on Thursday.
Pointing out that the cut is equal to about 4 per cent of HSBC’s total employee strength in its global banking and markets division, the report said the move comes as investment banks around the world are cutting staff and trimming costs in expectation of continued slowdown in the business.
“The cuts reflect HSBC’s gloomy prognosis for the world’s financial markets in 2009, although they also underscore the bank’s ambitions to focus its investment banking operations on emerging markets in Asia and the Middle-East, where executives believe it has a competitive advantage and the greatest opportunity for future growth,” Financial Times said.
About 500 of the employees, including both front and back office staff and permanent and temporary workers, were based in London, with the majority of the remainder in Europe and the United States, the newspaper said in a article published in its online edition.
According to the report, in the past two years, HSBC has realigned its investment banking operations to concentrate on providing financing and other risk management services to companies.
“The strategy followed an abortive attempt by HSBC to build a bulge-bracket investment bank by hiring hundreds of M&A bankers and beefing up its operations on Wall Street,” the report added.
Banking major HSBC has cut 1,100 jobs in its investment banking division due to turmoil in the financial markets, a media report said.
“HSBC slashed 1,100 jobs in its investment banking division as the financial group tightened its belt due to the slump in the financial markets,” The Financial Times reported on Thursday.
Pointing out that the cut is equal to about 4 per cent of HSBC’s total employee strength in its global banking and markets division, the report said the move comes as investment banks around the world are cutting staff and trimming costs in expectation of continued slowdown in the business.
“The cuts reflect HSBC’s gloomy prognosis for the world’s financial markets in 2009, although they also underscore the bank’s ambitions to focus its investment banking operations on emerging markets in Asia and the Middle-East, where executives believe it has a competitive advantage and the greatest opportunity for future growth,” Financial Times said.
About 500 of the employees, including both front and back office staff and permanent and temporary workers, were based in London, with the majority of the remainder in Europe and the United States, the newspaper said in a article published in its online edition.
According to the report, in the past two years, HSBC has realigned its investment banking operations to concentrate on providing financing and other risk management services to companies.
“The strategy followed an abortive attempt by HSBC to build a bulge-bracket investment bank by hiring hundreds of M&A bankers and beefing up its operations on Wall Street,” the report added.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Is one in 10 people employed in banking and financial services and IT industry are losing his job?
Forwarded by Venkat
One in 10 people employed in banking and financial services and the IT industry risks losing his job.
In February this year, Tata Consultancy Services announced that 500 of its employees have “voluntarily resigned” after an annual performance check. IBM followed suit with its downsizing plans and unconfirmed reports said the company had shown the door to almost 700 employees in India. The two companies were then roundly criticised for their obsession with handing out pink slips.
Just seven months later, those criticisms seem like a bad joke. Recruitment consultants now say every one in 10 people employed in India’s banking and financial services and the information technology industry risks losing his job because of the global financial meltdown.
The situation has become worse after the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the sell-out of Merrill Lynch on Monday. At least three top recruiting firms in India say, in the last 24 hours, many companies have asked them to stop hiring.
Layoffs are still a highly emotive issue in India and no company is willing to put any number to the people being asked to ship out, but all of them are consistent about the fact that the annual performance reviews have become stricter this year.
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Satyam, for example, has denied the buzz that about 9 per cent of its employees may be fired. But the company’s official statement says that as part of its appraisal process, the company identifies “around 5 per cent” of its employees for “performance improvement”. That’s a substantial number, considering the software giant has around 50,000 employees on its rolls.
Wipro isn’t far behind. The company has reportedly put 4 to 5 per cent of its employees under the non-performance scanner. The company’s official position is that some employees have been asked to move on, but the number is significantly lower than 2,000.
It’s certainly not IT companies alone. A host of broking firms admit that many of their employees are on “paid holidays” — a luxury they can ill-afford. And already quite a few of them have “politely persuaded” some of their people to leave. The numbers are still small, but the trickle may soon turn into a deluge if the panic in the markets continues for a few more months, Even the manufacturing sector, which has been largely untouched by the turmoil, may tighten the screws as far as hiring is concerned.
The instant fallout of what’s happening on Wall Street becomes clearer if one adds the uncertain fate of the over 2,500 Lehman employees in India and the estimated job loss of at least 1,000 Indian employees at Hewlett-Packard following the company’s decision to eliminate nearly 25,000 jobs worldwide.
That the future is bleak becomes clearer from the fact that US employers are expected to make their deepest cuts in staffing in almost seven years. Just a day after the Lehman and Merrill news broke out, New York Governor David Peterson forecast that Wall Street might lay off over 40,000 workers. To put this in context, Wall Street’s job force totalled 181,000 in July, already down by 11,000 from a year earlier.
HR consultants in India say the impact of what’s happening in London will complicate matters further and Indian employees are bound to feel the shock. For example, the layoff figure in UK’s financial district is expected to reach up to 50,000 over the next two years. The collapse of Lehman, which has a staff of 4,000 in London alone, adds to the misery of the financial services industry in that country. And that’s horrible news for companies dependent on Europe’s BFSI segment, that has added more jobs than all other service sectors combined since 2004.
Greg Savage, International CEO of Aquent, a US-based global staffing firm, says he was in London last week and wasn’t surprised when he got calls from some of the earlier hard-to-get professionals looking for a job.
Savage, whose firm specialises in marketing, communications and creative talent, says things are tough in India as well and companies will obviously get rid of mediocre employees as they can no longer afford to operate in a high-cost environment. Besides, some of the excesses of the past, when companies recruited anybody with a pair of hands, are bound to have its fall-out.
But the picture isn’t entirely grim for job seekers in India, Savage says. Employees with sought-after skills may still be able to demand hefty pay from potential employers. “In the media space, for example, employees who have retooled their digital skills, will have no problem in getting chased by head-hunters,” he says.
Savage is right. Companies may have more bargaining power now than they did a few years ago, but they will still pay well for top talent as it doesn’t make sense for them to undercut employees they want to retain in the long term.
So things will pan out well for the creamy layer. But for the rest, the future is clear: prepare for more job losses. It’s that time when many may feel lucky to just have a job.
One in 10 people employed in banking and financial services and the IT industry risks losing his job.
In February this year, Tata Consultancy Services announced that 500 of its employees have “voluntarily resigned” after an annual performance check. IBM followed suit with its downsizing plans and unconfirmed reports said the company had shown the door to almost 700 employees in India. The two companies were then roundly criticised for their obsession with handing out pink slips.
Just seven months later, those criticisms seem like a bad joke. Recruitment consultants now say every one in 10 people employed in India’s banking and financial services and the information technology industry risks losing his job because of the global financial meltdown.
The situation has become worse after the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the sell-out of Merrill Lynch on Monday. At least three top recruiting firms in India say, in the last 24 hours, many companies have asked them to stop hiring.
Layoffs are still a highly emotive issue in India and no company is willing to put any number to the people being asked to ship out, but all of them are consistent about the fact that the annual performance reviews have become stricter this year.
.
.
.
.
Satyam, for example, has denied the buzz that about 9 per cent of its employees may be fired. But the company’s official statement says that as part of its appraisal process, the company identifies “around 5 per cent” of its employees for “performance improvement”. That’s a substantial number, considering the software giant has around 50,000 employees on its rolls.
Wipro isn’t far behind. The company has reportedly put 4 to 5 per cent of its employees under the non-performance scanner. The company’s official position is that some employees have been asked to move on, but the number is significantly lower than 2,000.
It’s certainly not IT companies alone. A host of broking firms admit that many of their employees are on “paid holidays” — a luxury they can ill-afford. And already quite a few of them have “politely persuaded” some of their people to leave. The numbers are still small, but the trickle may soon turn into a deluge if the panic in the markets continues for a few more months, Even the manufacturing sector, which has been largely untouched by the turmoil, may tighten the screws as far as hiring is concerned.
The instant fallout of what’s happening on Wall Street becomes clearer if one adds the uncertain fate of the over 2,500 Lehman employees in India and the estimated job loss of at least 1,000 Indian employees at Hewlett-Packard following the company’s decision to eliminate nearly 25,000 jobs worldwide.
That the future is bleak becomes clearer from the fact that US employers are expected to make their deepest cuts in staffing in almost seven years. Just a day after the Lehman and Merrill news broke out, New York Governor David Peterson forecast that Wall Street might lay off over 40,000 workers. To put this in context, Wall Street’s job force totalled 181,000 in July, already down by 11,000 from a year earlier.
HR consultants in India say the impact of what’s happening in London will complicate matters further and Indian employees are bound to feel the shock. For example, the layoff figure in UK’s financial district is expected to reach up to 50,000 over the next two years. The collapse of Lehman, which has a staff of 4,000 in London alone, adds to the misery of the financial services industry in that country. And that’s horrible news for companies dependent on Europe’s BFSI segment, that has added more jobs than all other service sectors combined since 2004.
Greg Savage, International CEO of Aquent, a US-based global staffing firm, says he was in London last week and wasn’t surprised when he got calls from some of the earlier hard-to-get professionals looking for a job.
Savage, whose firm specialises in marketing, communications and creative talent, says things are tough in India as well and companies will obviously get rid of mediocre employees as they can no longer afford to operate in a high-cost environment. Besides, some of the excesses of the past, when companies recruited anybody with a pair of hands, are bound to have its fall-out.
But the picture isn’t entirely grim for job seekers in India, Savage says. Employees with sought-after skills may still be able to demand hefty pay from potential employers. “In the media space, for example, employees who have retooled their digital skills, will have no problem in getting chased by head-hunters,” he says.
Savage is right. Companies may have more bargaining power now than they did a few years ago, but they will still pay well for top talent as it doesn’t make sense for them to undercut employees they want to retain in the long term.
So things will pan out well for the creamy layer. But for the rest, the future is clear: prepare for more job losses. It’s that time when many may feel lucky to just have a job.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
DLF to issue pink slips to 300
Forwarded by Venkat
India’s largest real estate developer, DLF, is retrenching around 300 employees across all its centres and subsidiaries as it decides to slow down its project execution, especially in tier II cities, in the face of shrinking demand and expensive borrowing.
“Over the past month, around 300 employees have been asked to leave. The company had earlier decided to cut double the number, but later brought down the target,” said a DLF executive.
The DLF spokesperson, however, denied that the company was downsizing. Another senior DLF executive said tough times in real estate have forced the company to rationalise manpower and bring down costs.
He said the company has decided to go slow on the execution of projects, mainly in tier II cities, where there is hardly any demand for office and retail space at present.
“The management is not yet inclined to bring down rates even at the cost of losing business to rivals and has, therefore, decided to build less or no offices or malls in places where there is less demand,” the executive said.
Until a few years ago, DLF had its business concentrated only in the National Capital Region, especially Gurgaon. But the real estate boom of the past five years has seen the realty giant spread its activity across the country.
The company does business through a multitude of subsidiaries and its activities span almost all segments, including housing, offices, retail and SEZs.
But the global credit crisis and double-digit domestic inflation have slammed the brakes on the unprecedented realty growth in India. Indian firms are now looking for ways to deal with it. Most realty firms are cash-starved today, as much of the cash they earned during the good times were deployed in land acquisition.
Now, with home buyers deferring their purchases following multiple interest rate hikes, developers’ cash flow is choked.
Meanwhile, vacant space is piling up in several malls forcing developers to convert their under construction malls into office space.
But even office and IT space has started seeing oversupply in some pockets impacting rentals. A higher interest rate has also made borrowing expensive for developers. And for medium to small developers, bank credit is largely unavailable. In the given circumstances, some new small entrants are just falling by the wayside.
DLF is far bigger than any of its rivals and has the ability to sustain itself in a depressed market for much longer. A DLF executive said the company is reprioritising its projects. “
The company may sell some land to bring in additional cash, instead of initiating price cuts resulting in a market crash,” said the executive.
The biggest issue for DLF today is raising funds for its private unlisted promoter group firm DLF Assets (DAL), which buys all the office properties of DLF. Offices account for over half of DLF’s revenue. Global financial turmoil forced DAL to defer its listing in Singapore early this year.
The firm hasn’t since been able to raise enough funds to pay back DLF, to whom it still owes over Rs 3,000 crore for the properties it bought last year.
India’s largest real estate developer, DLF, is retrenching around 300 employees across all its centres and subsidiaries as it decides to slow down its project execution, especially in tier II cities, in the face of shrinking demand and expensive borrowing.
“Over the past month, around 300 employees have been asked to leave. The company had earlier decided to cut double the number, but later brought down the target,” said a DLF executive.
The DLF spokesperson, however, denied that the company was downsizing. Another senior DLF executive said tough times in real estate have forced the company to rationalise manpower and bring down costs.
He said the company has decided to go slow on the execution of projects, mainly in tier II cities, where there is hardly any demand for office and retail space at present.
“The management is not yet inclined to bring down rates even at the cost of losing business to rivals and has, therefore, decided to build less or no offices or malls in places where there is less demand,” the executive said.
Until a few years ago, DLF had its business concentrated only in the National Capital Region, especially Gurgaon. But the real estate boom of the past five years has seen the realty giant spread its activity across the country.
The company does business through a multitude of subsidiaries and its activities span almost all segments, including housing, offices, retail and SEZs.
But the global credit crisis and double-digit domestic inflation have slammed the brakes on the unprecedented realty growth in India. Indian firms are now looking for ways to deal with it. Most realty firms are cash-starved today, as much of the cash they earned during the good times were deployed in land acquisition.
Now, with home buyers deferring their purchases following multiple interest rate hikes, developers’ cash flow is choked.
Meanwhile, vacant space is piling up in several malls forcing developers to convert their under construction malls into office space.
But even office and IT space has started seeing oversupply in some pockets impacting rentals. A higher interest rate has also made borrowing expensive for developers. And for medium to small developers, bank credit is largely unavailable. In the given circumstances, some new small entrants are just falling by the wayside.
DLF is far bigger than any of its rivals and has the ability to sustain itself in a depressed market for much longer. A DLF executive said the company is reprioritising its projects. “
The company may sell some land to bring in additional cash, instead of initiating price cuts resulting in a market crash,” said the executive.
The biggest issue for DLF today is raising funds for its private unlisted promoter group firm DLF Assets (DAL), which buys all the office properties of DLF. Offices account for over half of DLF’s revenue. Global financial turmoil forced DAL to defer its listing in Singapore early this year.
The firm hasn’t since been able to raise enough funds to pay back DLF, to whom it still owes over Rs 3,000 crore for the properties it bought last year.
CTS removes Subsidies for its Employees!
Forwarded by Venkat
Unconfirmed News:
IT major Cognizant has removed its food subsidy of INR 16 per day per employee. Calculate the total cost saved per annum is INR. 280000000.(16 * 65000 (no. of employees) * 22 * 12 (no of working days) ) Phenomenal!
Is it cost cutting? or like Narayan Murthy said “SW Engg don’t need subsidies!
Unconfirmed News:
IT major Cognizant has removed its food subsidy of INR 16 per day per employee. Calculate the total cost saved per annum is INR. 280000000.(16 * 65000 (no. of employees) * 22 * 12 (no of working days) ) Phenomenal!
Is it cost cutting? or like Narayan Murthy said “SW Engg don’t need subsidies!
Monday, September 22, 2008
Wipro asks hundreds of US employees to proceed on leave
Forwarded by Venkat
Wipro Technologies Ltd. has asked hundreds of US employees to proceed on loss of pay leave. Last week Wipro lost two of their biggest BFSI customers, Lehman and Merill Lynch.
Wipro has had a ‘zero bench policy’ in the US since July 2008 and many more hundreds have been transferred back to their base location in India from the US.
The practice of asking people to apply for leave is one form of ‘benching’, where the company does not pay wages for periods during which the employee is not productive for the company.
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Next year there will be a big case against Wipro for payment of back wages and this will result in a big settlement worth many millions of dollars and a severe impact on US visa approvals for Wipro in future.
In 2007 Patni settled US back wages claims worth .4 million and you can google that up if you’re interested.
Wipro Technologies Ltd. has asked hundreds of US employees to proceed on loss of pay leave. Last week Wipro lost two of their biggest BFSI customers, Lehman and Merill Lynch.
Wipro has had a ‘zero bench policy’ in the US since July 2008 and many more hundreds have been transferred back to their base location in India from the US.
The practice of asking people to apply for leave is one form of ‘benching’, where the company does not pay wages for periods during which the employee is not productive for the company.
.
.
.
Next year there will be a big case against Wipro for payment of back wages and this will result in a big settlement worth many millions of dollars and a severe impact on US visa approvals for Wipro in future.
In 2007 Patni settled US back wages claims worth .4 million and you can google that up if you’re interested.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Nvidia To Layoff 360, Cutting Staff 6.5%
Forwarded by Venkat
Nvidia (NVDA) this afternoon announced that it will cut its staff by 6.5%, or about 360 people, by the end of its fiscal third quarter ending in October. The graphics chip company said the cuts will be across the board, affecting all departments and geographies. The company said it will take a charge in the October quarter of $7 million to $10 million to cover costs related to the layoffs.
In a statement, CEO Jen-Hsun Huang says the move was “difficult, but necessary considering current business realities.” Huang says the company will continue invest in “selective high-growth opportunities like our revolutionary CUDA parallel computing technology and our Tegra mobile single-chip computer.”
Huang added that the company is “taking fast action to enhance our competitive position and restore our financial performance.”
Nvidia shares have been struggling mightily since it missed guidance for the July quarter.
In today’s regular session, NVDA jumped 98 cents, or 9.8%, to $10.98; the stock is now up $1.73, or 18.6%, in the last three sessions. After hours, the stock is down 3 cents.
Nvidia (NVDA) this afternoon announced that it will cut its staff by 6.5%, or about 360 people, by the end of its fiscal third quarter ending in October. The graphics chip company said the cuts will be across the board, affecting all departments and geographies. The company said it will take a charge in the October quarter of $7 million to $10 million to cover costs related to the layoffs.
In a statement, CEO Jen-Hsun Huang says the move was “difficult, but necessary considering current business realities.” Huang says the company will continue invest in “selective high-growth opportunities like our revolutionary CUDA parallel computing technology and our Tegra mobile single-chip computer.”
Huang added that the company is “taking fast action to enhance our competitive position and restore our financial performance.”
Nvidia shares have been struggling mightily since it missed guidance for the July quarter.
In today’s regular session, NVDA jumped 98 cents, or 9.8%, to $10.98; the stock is now up $1.73, or 18.6%, in the last three sessions. After hours, the stock is down 3 cents.
Wipro gives pink slip to 1,000
Forwarded by Venkat
Wipro Technologies has put about 4-5 per cent of its workforce, about 2,400-3,000 employees, under the scanner for non-performance. Company sources reveal that about 1,000 employees have been asked to leave.
While some would be given counselling to improve their performance, others would be asked to leave.
Wipro’s corporate vice-president (human resources) Pratik Kumar confirmed the move. Asked how many employees had been asked to move on, he said the company did not disclose that number, but it was “significantly lower than 2,000”. “I can’t comment on a particular number,” Kumar said, when asked to comment.
“It’s a regular annual exercise. As the appraisal cycle gets over, a multi-layer review happens. Following that, people who have fallen in the lower quadrants of performance are put on watch. Some are asked to pull up and others are asked to move on,” he said.
The review includes all the 60,000 global IT services employees from the senior leadership team down to the person with one-year experience.
Wipro Technologies has put about 4-5 per cent of its workforce, about 2,400-3,000 employees, under the scanner for non-performance. Company sources reveal that about 1,000 employees have been asked to leave.
While some would be given counselling to improve their performance, others would be asked to leave.
Wipro’s corporate vice-president (human resources) Pratik Kumar confirmed the move. Asked how many employees had been asked to move on, he said the company did not disclose that number, but it was “significantly lower than 2,000”. “I can’t comment on a particular number,” Kumar said, when asked to comment.
“It’s a regular annual exercise. As the appraisal cycle gets over, a multi-layer review happens. Following that, people who have fallen in the lower quadrants of performance are put on watch. Some are asked to pull up and others are asked to move on,” he said.
The review includes all the 60,000 global IT services employees from the senior leadership team down to the person with one-year experience.
Accenture, Gurgaon : Mass walk-ins but not interviewing candidates
Forwarded by Venkat
I recently had this experience with Accenture. I got a call from a consultant and was asked to appear for an interview in Accenture, Gurgaon. I went for the interview only to find that there are already a huge crowd waiting outside the office gate since the past 3-4 hours. There was no provision to sit, the place where the candidates were waiting was the area in front of the lift, without even a fan, forget an AC. The place was suffocating. And after waiting for such a long time, we were told to fill up a form with our details and that they will contact us later. I never received a call.
They might have as well asked us to just send our profiles over email! Whats the point? And these companies call themselves global fortune 500 companies!!!
I guess companies no longer look at employees as brand ambassadors! They just look at them as a shelf product that they can buy and sell when they want rather than looking at them as living people!
I recently had this experience with Accenture. I got a call from a consultant and was asked to appear for an interview in Accenture, Gurgaon. I went for the interview only to find that there are already a huge crowd waiting outside the office gate since the past 3-4 hours. There was no provision to sit, the place where the candidates were waiting was the area in front of the lift, without even a fan, forget an AC. The place was suffocating. And after waiting for such a long time, we were told to fill up a form with our details and that they will contact us later. I never received a call.
They might have as well asked us to just send our profiles over email! Whats the point? And these companies call themselves global fortune 500 companies!!!
I guess companies no longer look at employees as brand ambassadors! They just look at them as a shelf product that they can buy and sell when they want rather than looking at them as living people!
TCS plans more lay-offs
Courtesy: Yahoo India
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the country's largest employer of software and software service professionals, is planning to lay off more people and discourage employees from staying more than two months on any of its benches at its centres. Last month, the company laid off 25 people from its Kolkata and Bangalore offices, according to company sources who declined to be identified.
Last year, TCS laid off 500 people after poor appraisals. The layoffs are a part of an employee utilisation exercise for the information technology (IT) company, which employs 1.12 lakh people.
The exercise would also include counselling employees and training them. Employees would be put on projects where they do not have experience, but can work if they upgrade their skills, said Ashok Mukherjee, vice president and head (global human resources), TCS. The company had said in June that growth in the country's technology-services industry will slow this fiscal year because of delays in orders from financial institutions.
IT companies, including TCS, have been going slow on recruitment and hiring plans. "All global companies follow a strategy where there is constant evaluation of whether people fit in an organisation's need," Mukherjee said.
"Termination is not an easy decision to take, and it is the last resort. However, if an employee were not to grow with the organisation, we would encourage them to find another organisation.
This is here to stay." However, he defended the company's decision to lay off 500 people last year.
"In an organisation of 1.12 lakh people, 500 is a very small number," he said. Currently, 21 per cent of TCS employees are in 'non-revenue generating activities', or the bench.
The rest, 79 per cent, are 'utilised', Mukherjee said. Utilisation figures for TCS have improved marginally from last year, when it stood at 78.1 per cent.
In IT companies, bench includes employees who are not involved in any project., When the number of people on the bench far exceeds the total number of projects, companies will try to rationalise.
Sources in the company, however, said that TCS has circulated a communication in its new independent business units (IBU) all across the world last month. The communication makes it clear that anyone who is on the bench would be liable to be transferred to any of the other IBUs across the world.
"Communications might have been sent to individuals on a case-to-case basis," TCS spokesperson Ashish Babu said. "This is not a company-wide phenomenon.
" Sources also indicated that the company might have put up to 750 people on watch for counselling on performance related issues, which would lead to terminations if they fail to meet performance levels. Mukherjee said the company would allow its policy of appraisals, where anyone who gets 1 on a scale of 5 for two consecutive appraisals, would be asked to leave.
This effectively means that employees will not be able to stay at their preferred locations if they are shifted out of a project, or if the project comes to an end, according to sources in the company. While the company saw its sales rise by 26 per cent in the quarter ended June 2008, profits rose by less than half that rate, at 12 per cent.
The company's gross margins fell by almost 7 percentage points to 28 per cent.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the country's largest employer of software and software service professionals, is planning to lay off more people and discourage employees from staying more than two months on any of its benches at its centres. Last month, the company laid off 25 people from its Kolkata and Bangalore offices, according to company sources who declined to be identified.
Last year, TCS laid off 500 people after poor appraisals. The layoffs are a part of an employee utilisation exercise for the information technology (IT) company, which employs 1.12 lakh people.
The exercise would also include counselling employees and training them. Employees would be put on projects where they do not have experience, but can work if they upgrade their skills, said Ashok Mukherjee, vice president and head (global human resources), TCS. The company had said in June that growth in the country's technology-services industry will slow this fiscal year because of delays in orders from financial institutions.
IT companies, including TCS, have been going slow on recruitment and hiring plans. "All global companies follow a strategy where there is constant evaluation of whether people fit in an organisation's need," Mukherjee said.
"Termination is not an easy decision to take, and it is the last resort. However, if an employee were not to grow with the organisation, we would encourage them to find another organisation.
This is here to stay." However, he defended the company's decision to lay off 500 people last year.
"In an organisation of 1.12 lakh people, 500 is a very small number," he said. Currently, 21 per cent of TCS employees are in 'non-revenue generating activities', or the bench.
The rest, 79 per cent, are 'utilised', Mukherjee said. Utilisation figures for TCS have improved marginally from last year, when it stood at 78.1 per cent.
In IT companies, bench includes employees who are not involved in any project., When the number of people on the bench far exceeds the total number of projects, companies will try to rationalise.
Sources in the company, however, said that TCS has circulated a communication in its new independent business units (IBU) all across the world last month. The communication makes it clear that anyone who is on the bench would be liable to be transferred to any of the other IBUs across the world.
"Communications might have been sent to individuals on a case-to-case basis," TCS spokesperson Ashish Babu said. "This is not a company-wide phenomenon.
" Sources also indicated that the company might have put up to 750 people on watch for counselling on performance related issues, which would lead to terminations if they fail to meet performance levels. Mukherjee said the company would allow its policy of appraisals, where anyone who gets 1 on a scale of 5 for two consecutive appraisals, would be asked to leave.
This effectively means that employees will not be able to stay at their preferred locations if they are shifted out of a project, or if the project comes to an end, according to sources in the company. While the company saw its sales rise by 26 per cent in the quarter ended June 2008, profits rose by less than half that rate, at 12 per cent.
The company's gross margins fell by almost 7 percentage points to 28 per cent.
Tech Mahindra is going to fail?
Forwarded by Venkat!
Due to its hiring policies that are always hire & fire type and also due to their tire with some of the engineering colleges for placements. tech mahindra(MBT) has lost its status for the IT labour.
recently at an Engineering college in patiala; tech mahindra organised a placement drive for engineering students & other technical students.
but at the registration time it refused to register the visiting students for technical profile & registered them for the BPO interview.
.
.
while the students of that college were registered for technical interviews.!
apart from that it fired one of the senior technical consultant because of his learning attitude & he applied for higher studies..
there are a number of issues related to Tech Mahindra.. so i think in present scenario og IT downfall, atleast TECH mahindra is going to fail
Due to its hiring policies that are always hire & fire type and also due to their tire with some of the engineering colleges for placements. tech mahindra(MBT) has lost its status for the IT labour.
recently at an Engineering college in patiala; tech mahindra organised a placement drive for engineering students & other technical students.
but at the registration time it refused to register the visiting students for technical profile & registered them for the BPO interview.
.
.
while the students of that college were registered for technical interviews.!
apart from that it fired one of the senior technical consultant because of his learning attitude & he applied for higher studies..
there are a number of issues related to Tech Mahindra.. so i think in present scenario og IT downfall, atleast TECH mahindra is going to fail
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Infospectrum fires 20% of workforce
Forwarded by Venkat
SAP Business One partner Infospectrum has fired upto 20% of its workforce. The company is in kottivakam ecr. Almost all of its Chennai office has been fired by giving a days notice. I worked very hard and yet they have decided to fire me. If it goes like this i think only the company vp Kailasam will remain in his company.
.
.
.
They want to remove delivery guys instead of people who don’t bring in projects.
It is all because of Mr Balachandrasekhar the Sales Head of chennai operations who has not brought in any sales since he joined a year back and does not even know the abc of SAP! somehow he continues to be in the job by sweet talking.
how will we find jobs if they fire us without giving any notice? Stay away from these companies….
SAP Business One partner Infospectrum has fired upto 20% of its workforce. The company is in kottivakam ecr. Almost all of its Chennai office has been fired by giving a days notice. I worked very hard and yet they have decided to fire me. If it goes like this i think only the company vp Kailasam will remain in his company.
.
.
.
They want to remove delivery guys instead of people who don’t bring in projects.
It is all because of Mr Balachandrasekhar the Sales Head of chennai operations who has not brought in any sales since he joined a year back and does not even know the abc of SAP! somehow he continues to be in the job by sweet talking.
how will we find jobs if they fire us without giving any notice? Stay away from these companies….
Satyam fires 6000 employees
Hyderabad, Sep 13: After Wipro showing the door to 1,000 employees and news about TCS planning another round of layoffs, it seems it’s pink slips time at Satyam Computers.
Hyderabad-based company has reportedly given pink slips to some 6000 engineers and associates at its Hyderabad, Pune and Visakhapatnam centres. According to earlier reports, the company has sacked 1950 experienced employees from the Hyderabad centre who were on bench. The report says that most of those sacked are in the ‘S’ band, indicating that they had at least two to five years of experience. Terming it as a routine exercise, company’s global head, HR, SV Krishnan said, “Giving pink slips to those in the ‘S’ band was not out of the ordinary and we do this as a matter of employee evaluation and development.” The company has reportedly also sent out a mail cautioning employees against not turning up at office and preferring to remain on the bench. Also, the company’s management has asked some employees to either voluntarily switch to a contractual agreement (moving from pay rolls) or leave.
Hyderabad-based company has reportedly given pink slips to some 6000 engineers and associates at its Hyderabad, Pune and Visakhapatnam centres. According to earlier reports, the company has sacked 1950 experienced employees from the Hyderabad centre who were on bench. The report says that most of those sacked are in the ‘S’ band, indicating that they had at least two to five years of experience. Terming it as a routine exercise, company’s global head, HR, SV Krishnan said, “Giving pink slips to those in the ‘S’ band was not out of the ordinary and we do this as a matter of employee evaluation and development.” The company has reportedly also sent out a mail cautioning employees against not turning up at office and preferring to remain on the bench. Also, the company’s management has asked some employees to either voluntarily switch to a contractual agreement (moving from pay rolls) or leave.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
HP set to cut workforce by 24,600
Forwarded by Venkat!
Hewlett-Packard (HP), the world’s largest computer company, says it plans to cut 24,600 jobs, almost 8% of its workforce, to streamline its business.
The cuts will take place over the next three years as it combines operations with Electronic Data Systems, the technology company it recently bought.
EDS employees are expected to bear the brunt of the cuts
HP hopes the acquisition will allow it to take on rival IBM and win more lucrative, long-term contracts.
Half of the jobs cuts will be in the US, with finance, human resources and legal departments expected to be affected.
The company said that it eventually planned to add about half the positions back as different jobs in different departments within the company.
HP’s $13.9bn takeover of EDS is the firm’s biggest acquisition since 2002 when it bought Compaq for $19bn.
Hewlett-Packard (HP), the world’s largest computer company, says it plans to cut 24,600 jobs, almost 8% of its workforce, to streamline its business.
The cuts will take place over the next three years as it combines operations with Electronic Data Systems, the technology company it recently bought.
EDS employees are expected to bear the brunt of the cuts
HP hopes the acquisition will allow it to take on rival IBM and win more lucrative, long-term contracts.
Half of the jobs cuts will be in the US, with finance, human resources and legal departments expected to be affected.
The company said that it eventually planned to add about half the positions back as different jobs in different departments within the company.
HP’s $13.9bn takeover of EDS is the firm’s biggest acquisition since 2002 when it bought Compaq for $19bn.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
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Please mail any information related layoffs, hiring, Corporate Gossips, Pay Rise, Growth Prospects, cost cuttings, fresher jobs info to info@currentitmarket.net
Please mail any information related layoffs, hiring, Corporate Gossips, Pay Rise, Growth Prospects, cost cuttings, fresher jobs info to info@currentitmarket.net
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
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