Indian Cos freeze short-term hiring, rules out layoffs

Source: TheEconomicTimes
Grappling with the economic downturn, most Indian companies have frozen their hiring plans for the short term, even as majority of them still rule out layoffs as a way of controlling costs, a PricewaterhouseCoopers survey released on Thursday said.

Over three-fourth (76%) of the respondents are reviewing their recruitment strategy to manage their costs in these unprecedented times, the survey by global consultancy firm said. The report stated that most companies have frozen or deferred hiring and are adopting a “wait-and-watch” policy.

However, most companies are shying away from employee layoffs as a way of controlling costs, with as much as 84% of the respondents voting against it. The survey, carried out across 12 sectors and over 100 respondent companies, found that the IT/ITeS sector is severely conservative in hiring plans.